g12 u4 se b1 · 8/17/2017 · embedded assessment 1: examining how an issue is presented in media...

Unit OverviewDuring this year, you have explored the idea of perspective by learning about and applying various critical lenses to literary texts. These perspectives allow you to view texts through a particular set of assumptions. Looking at real events, rather than literary texts, poses the different but related challenge of discerning which representation of reality—if any—is closest to the objective truth. This challenge is particularly significant in the context of how the media relate events. From reporting a war in a foreign country to covering a local city council meeting,

the media have an obligation to represent the facts of the story as objectively as possible. In this unit, you will explore how an event’s meaning is shaped by reporting. You will be asked to analyze the reporting of events. You will examine how reports appear to show a critical perspective and what you see if you apply a critical perspective to reports. This unit asks you to become an active rather than passive viewer of media and government reports, recognizing that informational texts, like literary texts, need to be read or “decoded” carefully.

Visual Prompt: Consider the individuals represented in this image of a shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. What different experiences, stories, and perspectives might they have?

UNIT

4

Creating Perspectives

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G12_U4_SE_B1.indd 257G12_U4_SE_B1.indd 257 11/10/16 11:27 AM11/10/16 11:27 AM

Creating PerspectivesCreating Perspectives

ContentsActivities

4.1 Previewing the Unit ................................................................. 260

4.2 Reality TV (and Other Media) ...................................................261*Documentary Film: Clip from Frontline, “News War, Part III: What’s Happening to the News (Chapters 16–18: A New Definition of News)”

4.3 Constructing Public Opinion ....................................................265Article: “How the Media Twist the News,” by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas Article: “Why Partisans View Mainstream Media as Biased and Ideological Media as Objective,” by Matthew C. Nisbet

4.4 Bias in News Reports .............................................................. 273

4.5 Framing the Investigation .........................................................276Legal Document: The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 101Article: “Daylong Efforts to Repair Levee Fail,” by Dan SheaSpeech: “President Outlines Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts,” by George W. Bush

4.6 Directing the Investigation ...................................................... 286 *Documentary Trailer: Trouble the Water, directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

4.7 Throwing Light on the Situation .............................................. 288 Editorial: “An Editorial: It’s Time for a Nation to Return the Favor,” from The Times-PicayuneArticle: “Looters Leave Nothing Behind in Storm’s Wake,” by Mike Perlstein and Brian ThevenotArticle: “Who’s a Looter? In Storm’s Aftermath, Pictures Kick Up a Different Kind of Tempest,” by Tania RalliArticle: “The Press, Race, and Katrina” by Madison GrayReport: Excerpt from “A Failure of Initiative,” by the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane KatrinaArticle: “‘Attitude of Resilience’ Helped Create Demo Diva,” by Simone BruniReport: Excerpt from “The Need for Science in Restoring Resilience to the Northern Gulf of Mexico,” by Gregory J. Smith

Literary Terms

paradoxrhetorical slantersrhetorical contextdiegetic soundnon-diegetic sound

GOALS:

• To evaluate media as an information source

• To investigate a variety of perspectives on a single event

• To analyze how different critical perspectives shape the reporting and interpreting of events

• To create a media text by applying multiple lenses to the investigation and representation of an event

• To analyze the integration of quotations and their effect on the reader

UNIT

4

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYagendamediamedia channeldocumentary filmprimary footagearchival footagesynthesizeconventions

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258 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Senior English


4.8 Looking for Trouble ..................................................................311

4.9 Evaluating Sources ...................................................................314

Embedded Assessment 1: Examining How an Issue Is Presented in Media Texts .......................316

4.10 Previewing Embedded Assessment 2 .......................................318

4.11 Considering the Medium ..........................................................319 *Documentary Film: Clip from Frontline, “News War, Part III: What’s Happening to the News (Chapter 19: A New Universe of Online Media)”*Documentary Film: Clips from Frontline, “The Storm”*Documentary Film: Clips from Trouble the Water, directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

4.12 That Sounds Just Right ........................................................... 322*Film: Teacher-selected clip

4.13 Turning Facts into Narrative ................................................... 324

4.14 Voir Dire: Facing a Jury of Your Peers .......................................327

Embedded Assessment 2: Creating a Documentary Media Text ...... 329

*Texts not included in these materials.

Language and Writer’s Craft• Citing Quotations (4.2)

• Using Hyphens to Create Compound Modifiers (4.11)

MY INDEPENDENT

READING LIST

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Unit 4 • Creating Perspectives 259


My Notes

LEARNING STRATEGIES:

Close Reading, Marking the Text, Graphic Organizer, Summarizing

Learning Targets• Preview the big ideas for the unit.

• Identify and analyze the skills and knowledge needed to complete Embedded Assessment 1 successfully.

Making ConnectionsWe are not passive consumers of media; rather, as active participants we bring our own sets of interests, experiences, assumptions, and biases to what we read, see, and hear, as do those who produce what we read, see, and hear. When we care about an event, we want to know how to determine what is true about the event and how to get close to that truth. However, it is important to recognize our own filters—those personal interests, experiences, assumptions, and biases—and how they significantly affect our ability to discern the truth. In this unit, you will use critical perspectives to analyze information sources.

Essential QuestionsBased on your current knowledge, write answers to these questions in the My Notes space.

1. How do media sources influence our understanding of the truth and significance of an issue?

2. How are media texts constructed to support an agenda or interpretation?

Developing VocabularyReview the Academic Vocabulary and the Literary Terms on the Contents page. Use a vocabulary strategy such as QHT to analyze your knowledge of these words. What strategies will you use independently to gather and apply vocabulary knowledge throughout the unit?

Unpacking Embedded Assessment 1Read the following assignment for Embedded Assessment 1 and summarize the major elements in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Your assignment is to write an argumentative essay, including an annotated bibliography, that argues for the use of a particular critical lens to interpret an event, supporting your argument with evidence from at least five texts gathered alone or with your group members.

Summarize in your own words what you will need to know for this assessment. With your class, create a graphic organizer that represents the skills and knowledge you will need to accomplish this task, and strategize how you will complete the assignment. To help you complete your graphic organizer, be sure to review the criteria in the Scoring Guide.

Previewing the Unit Previewing the Unit

ACTIVITY

4.1

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYThe word agenda may refer to a list of items to be discussed during a meeting. As used here, however, it refers to an underlying, often ideological, plan or program that guides behavior and opinion.

INDEPENDENT

READING LINK

Read and RecommendFor your independent reading during this unit, consider choosing nonfiction about the media, such as a biography about a prominent journalist or books about the experiences of journalists reporting from the front lines or from other countries. Discuss your selection with a small group. Explain why you would or would not recommend your choice to your classmates.

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My Notes


Graphic Organizer, Discussion Groups, Note-taking

ACTIVITY

4.2Reality TV (and Other Media)Reality TV (and Other Media)

Learning Targets• Explain how informational texts reflect or reveal critical perspectives.

• In collaborative groups, develop criteria and strategies for selecting supporting evidence from texts.

• Integrate information gathered from a documentary film and from written texts to address a question.

What Is the Media?1. In this activity, you will examine an analysis of how media coverage of news has

changed since the advent of television over 60 years ago. Before doing so, take a minute to consider how you yourself gather information about events that take place in the world around you.

2. Complete the following graphic organizer with information about current events.

School/Local Event Details/Facts I Know About Event

Information Sources

State/National Event Details/Facts I Know About Event

Information Sources

International Event Details/Facts I Know About Event

Information Sources

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYMedia, collectively, refers to the organizations that communicate information to the public. A media channel is one method an organization uses to communicate, such as radio, television, website, newspaper, or magazine.

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Reality TV (and Other Media)Reality TV (and Other Media)ACTIVITY 4.2

continued

3. As you watch a clip from “News War,” a documentary miniseries from PBS’s investigative journalism show Frontline, use the following guiding questions to consider how three critical lenses inform or are revealed by the show’s explanations of why the coverage—and even the definition—of news has changed since television news first took hold in the 1950s. As you watch the segments, focus on gathering claims and evidence that fit each lens.

Guiding Question 1: What do changes in media coverage reveal about changing cultural perspectives on “news”?

Guiding Question 2: How have historical developments influenced the role of news?

Guiding Question 3: How have economic or market factors affected news coverage in America?

My Notes

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ACTIVITY 4.2

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4. In a group, share your observations regarding one of the three lenses you focused on. Then write a concise thesis that explains the change in how news is delivered and consumed in the United States, interpreted through your lens.

Thesis:

5. Read the following quotations. Use three colors to highlight the quotations by type: Cultural, Historical, Marxist. Then, in the box on the left, rank the quotes within each color category based on their potential usefulness as evidence. Which would best serve as evidence to support your interpretive take on Frontline’s coverage in “News War”? Why?

Rank Quotes

“In the very early days of television news, the FCC still had teeth and still used them every once in a while, and there was that little paragraph—section 315 of the FCC code—that said, ‘You shall operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.’”—Ted Koppel, former ABC reporter

“Then in the ’80s, with Reagan-era deregulation, there was a series of corporate takeovers.”—Narrator

“Here was a news program [60 Minutes] that was becoming a tremendous profit center and people in the corporate entity began to say, ‘Wow, you know what? News can make money. And not only can it make money, it can make big money.’”—Dan Rather, former CBS Evening News anchor

“And (CBS producer Larry) Tisch looked at a very fat CBS News and thought, ‘I bet that I can cut 33% of this organization out, and deliver a product that is 90% as good. And if I can do that, I can make Wall Street incredibly happy, I can make my stockholders happy, and that’s what business is about.’”—Tom Bettag, former producer, CBS Evening News

“News is what matters to people—true information about what matters to people is news. … The standard has changed and it’s broadened, not lowered. … It’s changed because there are a wider number of outlets. We have 31 hours of programming, plus we have radio 24 hours a day, plus we now have a website, so there’s a wider number of topics covered.”—David Westin, President, ABC News

“I think what happened around the year 2000 was you had many more outlets—you could have dozens or more cable stations, you could have talk radio—and in order to stand out in an environment like that, you didn’t have to get a broad-based audience the way CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite would do; you really just had to get a passionate and sometimes narrower audience, and to get that, it worked better to be opinion-based.”—Walter Isaacson, former CEO of CNN

“You don’t see anybody between 20 and 30 getting their news from the evening news; you see them getting it online.”—Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes

“I think the biggest cause for tumult right now is that the economic underpinning for all these news organizations is changing.”—Larry Kramer, reporter and media consultant

“In this new media world, consumers are demanding news and entertainment when and where they want it, often creating it themselves.”—Narrator

My Notes

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My Notes Language and Writer’s Craft: Citing Quotations

Documentaries and other kinds of nonfiction rely on direct quotations to provide specifics to their accounts of events. Direct quotations use a speaker’s exact words, enclosed in quotation marks:

The narrator continues, “Then in the ’80s, with Reagan-era deregulation, there was a series of corporate takeovers.” This comment refers to an economic fact that was to have great consequences.

Writers can also use paraphrase speakers, citing sources while making the words their own:

The narrator explains that deregulation during Reagan’s presidency led to several corporate takeovers.

Adding quotations to your writing is a great way to add color and alternate voices to make your writing more compelling and persuasive. They also help make nonfiction writing seem more authentic and less filtered through an author’s voice. Paraphrases can be useful when you want to shorten and summarize what a speaker has said. Good nonfiction includes both quotations and paraphrasing.

PRACTICE Add support to your thesis statement from the previous page by citing speakers with one direct quotation and one paraphrase.

Check Your Understanding What are some criteria for selecting quotations to support an interpretive claim?

Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text Use one of the critical perspectives to explain what catalyzed the transformation in the news industry. Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant examples from the text and citing them properly. Be sure to:

• Include concise and well-reasoned interpretive statements.

• Smoothly incorporate quotes and paraphrases from the documentary to support your ideas.

• Create cohesion using an appropriate organizational structure and transitions.

• Write a conclusion that follows from your interpretive statements and evidence.

Reality TV (and Other Media)Reality TV (and Other Media)ACTIVITY 4.2

continued

WORD

CONNECTIONS

Content ConnectionsIn chemistry, catalyze means “to cause a chemical change to happen more quickly.” The related word catalyst is an agent or substance that speeds up a chemical reaction. In non-scientific contexts, catalyst may refer to a person or event that causes or precipitates change.

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ACTIVITY

4.3Constructing Public OpinionConstructing Public Opinion

Learning Targets• Closely read two competing arguments to evaluate their effectiveness.

• Analyze the elements of argumentation in a text in order to engage in a debate.

Media Study1. Working with a partner, write definitions for the following terms in relation

to media study. Leave space to add to/revise your definitions later. Consult references—either print or online—to determine precise meanings and standard usage.

Term Definition

Target Audience

Objectivity

Perspective

Agenda

Bias

Quickwrite: Keeping your definitions in mind, to what extent do you think media coverage shapes our perception of issues and events?

PreviewIn this activity, you will read and analyze two texts that present dramatically different perspectives on media bias. Pay close attention to each article’s title as a clue to the perspective of the author and the article.

Setting a Purpose for Reading• As you read each argument, put a star next to the central claim.

• Underline supporting ideas and evidence used by the writer.

• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.

My Notes


Think-Pair-Share, Graphic Organizer, Quickwrite, Marking the Text, Debate

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GRAMMAR USAGE

Sentence VarietyVarying the length and syntax of your sentences helps maintain the interest of your readers. Too many long sentences can wear your reader out, and too many short sentences can feel dull.

However, you can use a series of short sentences to grab the readers’ attention. Notice how short the second paragraph of this article is compared to all the other paragraphs. It contains only three very short sentences that slow the reader down and help emphasize what the writer is saying.

As you write, think about how you can vary the length of your sentences to create variety, power, and emphasis.

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued

Constructing Public OpinionConstructing Public Opinion

Article

How the Media Twist the News

by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas

1 In a most ordinary moment on a normal day at work in the Chicago bureau of a major national newsmagazine, I came to a realization that has bothered me ever since. Everyone knows how much power the press has in shaping the news, how its choice of stories and words infl uence readers. But one aft ernoon, talking about a rather silly feature story we were doing on pop culture, someone joked, “You know, we can start a trend just by calling it a trend!”

2 I stopped dead. It was true. But I was the only one not laughing.

3 Of course, this was hardly an original insight. Walter Lippmann—journalist, military intelligence specialist during World War I, propagandist, political scientist, author, and adviser to the presidents—made the same observation a generation ago. Th ese words from his book, Public Opinion, bear repeating:

Every newspaper when it reaches the reader is the result of a whole series of selections. … In order that [the reader] shall enter he must fi nd a familiar foothold in the story, and this is supplied to him by the use of stereotypes. Th ey tell him that if an association of plumbers is called a “combine” it is appropriate to develop his hostility; if it is called a “group of leading businessmen” the cue is for a favorable reaction. It is in a combination of these elements that the power to create opinion resides.

4 Why is it so easy to lead people into new behaviors, desires, and attitudes? Why don’t people think more critically and see through some of the airy media stories that have no real substance—the stories that are less news than public relations or marketing? As Lippmann noted, it’s the result of “apathy, preference for the curious trivial as against the dull important, and the hunger for sideshows and three-legged calves.”

5 Th ese days, sideshows and curious trivia have actually gained even greater importance in an industry that has become a confusing mix of news and entertainment. Still, there are people who would like to pay attention to the more consequential events and issues that used to be called news. Th ese can be hard to discern when politics itself has become trivialized. Hence the need to become intelligent news consumers: to learn how to pick through massive fi elds of information for substantive and fair reporting.

6 Th is is a tall task. Th e manipulation of public opinion is of great importance to both the government and the media. And it takes on added urgency in the months before an election.

7 Last year [2001], veteran CBS newsman Bernard Goldberg shocked the media world with his book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. He minced no words in laying out the fundamental problem. “Th e old argument that the networks and other ‘media elites’ have a liberal bias is so blatantly true that it’s hardly worth discussing anymore,” he writes. “No, we don’t sit around in dark corners and plan strategies on how we’re going to slant the news. We don’t have to. It comes naturally to most reporters. … When you get right down to it, liberals in the newsroom see liberal

apathy: lack of interest or feeling

trivialized: treated as unimportantsubstantive: important; meaningful

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My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued

views as just plain … sensible, reasonable, rational views, which just happen to coincide with their own” (emphasis added).

8 Consider this exchange from [Cable News Network] CNN’s American Morning show. Th e panelists are talking about the quality of the reporting from the Middle East. Anderson Cooper says, “On both sides of this issue, people see this so clearly one way or the other. It’s really fascinating.” Paula Zahn: “And it clearly colors their reaction to reporting, and I think it’s, you know, very diffi cult for people to separate their own personal views from the way they interpret the news.” Jack Caff erty: “Th e news media is [sic] only objective if they report something you agree with.” Zahn: “Right.” Caff erty concludes: “Th en they’re objective. Otherwise they’re biased if you don’t agree, you know.”

9 For these three CNN personalities, the news media themselves are impervious to the predispositions and prejudice that affl ict their audience. But contrary to what CNN might have us believe, bias is a real problem. You can see it in all the ways the media interpret, frame, and produce the great issues of our day. Th ey slant the news according to their ideologies and fi nd sources who will back them up. Over my 23 years with a newsmagazine, it oft en did a good—sometimes very good—job of reporting and analyzing news and its impact. But sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes the editors assigned reporters to a story that had been preconceived in the New York headquarters—a story with a foregone conclusion. …

10 In a world of media spin, it’s not easy to keep one’s own balance. First, know what your core values are, what you hold to be objectively true. Be discriminating in your selection of news sources and carefully scrutinize everything you hear and read—see how it resonates with what you believe.

11 Note how news gatherers select subjects and how they cover them. What photographs do they choose? Do their accounts sound slanted, or do they present compelling voices from both sides of an issue?

12 Notice their sources: Do you hear from the same set of “experts” again and again? I find this especially annoying. The newsmagazine I worked for is still using some of the same old liberal “news analysts” they used when I first arrived in the Midwest bureau more than two decades ago. And you see them all over television news as well. When the topic is Catholicism, the networks all call on the same dissident priests and ex-priests, feminists, and “Catholics for a Free Choice”: Andrew Greeley, Eugene Kennedy, Charles Curran, Richard Sipe, Frances Kissling, and so on. Paula Zahn has continually used Sipe as the go-to expert on the troubles within the Church, always describing him as a “retired priest.” He’s an ex-priest, Paula. There’s a difference.

13 “Th ey don’t want our new, fresh sources when they’ve got the regulars who give them the quotes they want,” Ruderman says, sharing my observation that the major media, like the newsmagazine we worked for, have all taken the easy route of using dog-eared Rolodexes1 to call on the same talking heads2. “Th ey never wanted my sources when they didn’t fi t the mold of what they wanted the story to say. Th ey had a preconceived idea of the status quo, and so they would always go to the status-quo sources for their standard comments.” …

1 Rolodexes: small index systems with cards used to record names, addresses, and telephone numbers

2 talking heads: TV commentators

GRAMMAR USAGE

Integrating QuotationsNotice how the author integrates quotations in a variety of ways by varying the placement of a subject’s name in the sentence:

Anderson Cooper says, “On both sides of this issue, people see this so clearly one way or the other.”

Paula Zahn: “And it clearly colors their reaction to reporting …”

Varying the ways quotations are integrated keeps the writing from being dull or repetitive. Highlight each integrated quote on this page, and discuss how this variety in syntax affects the flow of the writing.

impervious: not bothered or affectedpredispositions: inclinations; tendencies

status quo: existing condition or state of affairs

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My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued


14 It’s interesting how much of Lippmann’s analysis from 70 years ago still applies to the media. In the foreword to the 1997 edition of Public Opinion, Ronald Steel recalls that from a young age, Lippmann studied politics and the press. “In Liberty and the News he concluded that the newspaper stories of one of the seminal events of the century (the Russian Revolution) were distorted and inaccurate, based not on the facts but on the ‘hopes of the men who composed the news organization.’”

15 Lippmann then posed a more fundamental problem, as Steel relates: “How could the public get the information it needed to make rational political judgments if it could not rely on the press? Unbiased information had become essential, he argued, because ‘decisions in a modern state tend to be made by the interaction, not of Congress and the executive, but of public opinion and the executive.’ … For this reason the accuracy of news reporting, the protection of the sources of public opinion, had become the ‘basic problem of democracy.’”

16 Th e power of public opinion, which is supposed to be the driving force behind most important decisions in a democracy, can itself be driven or steered by the prejudices of unoffi cial opinion-makers. Vigilance and self-awareness are its only protection. Which is why, wherever they get their news, intelligent citizens will take nothing for granted except their principles.

Article

Why Partisans View Mainstream Media as Biased and Ideological Media as Objective

by Matthew C. Nisbet

July 21, 2011

1 We’ve reached a unique paradox in American political culture today: Both liberals and conservatives view the mainstream media as biased, yet tend to believe that their own ideologically-like minded outlets and commentators provide objective coverage. Claims of media bias have long been the lingua franca3 of the conservative movement with the creation of rival outlets fi rst in the form of magazines such as the National Review, then political talk radio, and culminating with Fox News and right-wing blogs.

2 Yet over the past decade, harsh criticism of the mainstream media has also increasingly emanated from the left with claims of biased coverage a fundamental core belief of progressive advocates working on issues ranging from climate change to social policy. In turn these same progressives tend to prefer the “objective” coverage at magazines like the Nation, blogging platforms like the Huffi ngton Post, and most prominently MSNBC which has positioned itself as the liberal counter-weight to Fox News.

3 Research in the fi eld of communication has tracked the psychological under-pinning of this societal trend, explaining why partisans view mainstream coverage as biased but perceive their preferred ideological outlets as fair and balanced. In a recently published book chapter on the social psychology of political communication, my colleague Lauren Feldman and I review and explain this research, drawing in part on Feldman’s own work in the area.

3 lingua franca: a common language used between people who speak diff erent native languages

seminal: strongly influential

emanated: came ©

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My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued

4 Here is an excerpt on media bias, from that chapter.

Across national settings, there is an ever pervasive belief in various forms of media bias. In the U.S., over the past two decades, the dominant belief regarding media bias is that the mainstream news media favor liberal causes and political candidates. Yet, when researchers conduct content analyses to search for systematic patterns of partisan bias in coverage of elections, across studies they are unable to fi nd defi nitive evidence (D’Alessio D. & Allen, 2000). If social scientists using the best tools available to them fi nd it diffi cult to observe hard evidence of liberal bias, why are beliefs among the public so widespread? Moreover, across country settings and issues, what explains the diff erence between subjective perceptions of media bias and objective indicators relative to coverage?

In research on perceptions of the news media, credibility is understood as a subjective assessment, infl uenced by the partisan or ideological background of the audience and the claims about bias that might emanate from trusted sources such as political commentators or like-minded friends. In the U.S. context, these claims are typically focused on a liberal bias charged by conservative elites and reinforce a widespread belief among conservative-leaning audiences (Watts, Domke, Shah, & Fan, 1999). Audiences, then, do not typically assess story content on its own merits but rather on the basis of preconceived notions about the news media—oft en stemming from journalists’ tendency in many stories to cover and refl ect on their own potential liberal bias. A number of other studies have also suggested that individuals’ expectations for bias in a news source or in the media, more generally, are likely to infl uence their perceptions of bias in news coverage (Arpan & Raney, 2003; Baum & Gussin, 2007).

Perhaps the most crucial determinant of perceptions of bias in the news, however, is the extent to which news coverage is seen as disagreeing with one’s own views. Individuals who feel most strongly about an issue tend to see their own side’s views as being more a product of objective analysis and normative concerns, and less infl uenced by ideology, than the other side’s views (Robinson, Keltner, Ward, & Ross, 1995). Th is human tendency translates directly to judgments about the media. In a range of studies, when news audiences who hew to opposing sides on an issue are given the same news coverage of the topic to evaluate, both view this identical coverage as biased in favor of the other side (Gunther & Schmitt, 2004; Vallone et al., 1985). Th e phenomenon is commonly referred to as the “hostile media eff ect.” Researchers believe that the explanation for this hostile media eff ect is selective categorization: opposing partisans attend to, process, and recall identical content from a news presentation but mentally categorize and label the same aspects of a story diff erently—as hostile to their own position (Schmitt, Gunther, & Liebhart, 2004).

Th e original hostile media eff ect assumes that news coverage is inherently balanced. Th e relative hostile media perception (Gunther, Christen, Liebhart, & Chia, 2001) relaxes this assumption, making it applicable to news that is slanted in favor of or against a particular issue. In the presence of the relative hostile media eff ect, supporters and opponents of a given issue perceive bias in a consistent direction (i.e., leaning toward one side), but each group perceives coverage as signifi cantly more unfavorable to their own position relative to those in the other group. In other words, partisans perceive less bias in news coverage slanted to support their view than their opponents on the other side of the issue.

Interestingly, then, whereas the implication of the original hostile media eff ect is a partisan public perceiving media bias where none was present and thus

pervasive: widespread

normative: conforming to something that is usual or expected

hew: adhere; support

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My Notes

potentially rejecting useful information, the implications of the relative hostile media eff ect are somewhat diff erent. Of consequence here is that partisans will fail to recognize bias in news that is in fact biased, in instances when that bias is congruent with their pre-existing views. Th is bias against news bias is troubling. Americans’ trust in news sources has become deeply polarized in recent years—with Republicans, for example, attributing more credibility to the conservative Fox News and less to most other news organizations than Democrats (Pew Research Center, 2008). In other countries, similar perceptions of a left or right bias to news or alternatively a bias relative to national or ethnic identity exist.

In each context, as news—particularly on cable TV and online—is infused with increasing amounts of opinion and ideology, this may make it even easier for partisans to validate their personal political beliefs—by accepting at face value information that comports with their views while rejecting information that advocates for the other side. Th us, the relative hostile media eff ect may not only refl ect partisan divides in news perceptions but may also contribute to the further polarization of political attitudes and knowledge across political systems.

Second Read • Reread the articles to answer these text-dependent questions.

• Write any additional questions you have about the texts in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

“How the Media Twist the News”2. Craft and Structure: How does the structure of paragraph 2 help the writer make

an effective argument?

3. Key Ideas and Details: According to Liaugminas, why are people susceptible to media manipulation? Cite details from the text to support your answer.

4. Craft and Structure: What tone does Liaugminas establish when she addresses Zahn directly at the end of paragraph 12? How might this appeal to her target audience?

congruent: similar to; in agreement polarized: divided into sharply opposing sides

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued


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5. Key Ideas and Details: What three suggestions does Liaugminas make for recognizing and avoiding media manipulation?

6. Craft and Structure: In paragraph 12, why does Liaugminas put “experts” and “news analysts” in quotation marks?

7. Craft and Structure: In the context of her article, what does Liaugminas mean by “intelligent citizens”? How has the meaning of this term changed from her initial definition of intelligent news consumers? How effective is her call to action using this term?

“Why Partisans View Mainstream Media as Biased and Ideological Media as Objective” 8. Key Ideas and Details: What is the difference between “mainstream” and

“ideological” media? Why is their difference a paradox?

9. Craft and Structure: What is the meaning of progressive as it is used in paragraph 2?

10. Key Ideas and Details: According to the text, what is the “hostile media effect”?

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

continued

Literary Terms

A paradox is a statement that contains two seemingly incompatible points.

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11. Key Ideas and Details: How does the “relative hostile media perception” relate to the “hostile media effect”? What effect does it have on audiences?

12. Craft and Structure: Why does Nisbet find the bias against news bias to be “troubling”? Based on this, how do you think he feels about the current political climate?

Working from the Text13. Now that you have closely examined both articles, decide which author is more

persuasive. Share your opinion in a class debate. Be sure to:

• Listen and respond to the point of the previous speaker before adding a new point to the discussion.

• Cite textual evidence to support your claim.

14. After discussing the two articles, reflect on the following questions.

• How much did your existing personal opinions influence your perspective on which author was more persuasive regarding media bias?

• How much did your existing personal opinions influence your perspective on which author was more correct regarding media bias?

• What’s the difference between being persuasive and being correct?

• In general, to what extent does our perspective on what is correct influence our perspective on what is persuasive and vice versa?

Check Your UnderstandingReturn to the definitions you wrote at the beginning of the unit, and revise them based on what you’ve learned through the readings and class debate. How did these concepts help you come to a conclusion about which author is more persuasive?

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.3

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My Notes

Learning Targets• Identify and examine evidence of bias and rhetorical slanters in a media text.

• Analyze the role of bias in contrasting news reports.

Slanting the NewsWriters and directors can influence our perspective on a subject through the use of selection and omission, source control, and other manipulations of content, but rhetoric itself may be the most powerful tool through which our perceptions can be influenced. The following rhetorical slanters (adapted from Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker’s Critical Thinking, 8th ed., 2007) identify key techniques often used by writers.

• Rhetorical Analogy: the use of a figurative comparison (sometimes a simile or a metaphor) to convey a positive or negative feeling toward the subject

Example: “The environment needs this candidate like farmers need a drought.”

• Rhetorical Definition: the use of emotionally charged language to express or elicit an attitude about something

Example: Capital punishment is “government-sanctioned murder.”

• Rhetorical Explanation: expressing an opinion as if it were fact, and doing so in biased language

Example: “Joe didn’t have the guts to fight back” as compared to “Joe did not take a swing.”

• Innuendo: the use of language to imply that a particular inference is justified, as if saying “go ahead and read between the lines”

Example: “Think carefully about whom you choose; you want a president who will be ready to do the job on day one.”

• Downplayers: the use of qualifier words, phrases, or punctuation to make someone or something look less important or significant

Example: “She’s a ‘reporter’ for a blog that hardly anyone reads.”

• Hyperbole: the use of extravagant overstatement

Example: “This school administration is fascist!”

• Truth Surrogates: hinting that proof exists to support a claim without actually citing that proof

Example: “There’s every reason to believe that … ”

• Ridicule/Sarcasm: the use of language that suggests the subject is worthy of scorn

Example: “The news media themselves are oh-so-clearly impervious to the predispositions and prejudice that afflict their audience.”

ACTIVITY

4.4Bias in News Reports Bias in News Reports


Graphic Organizer, Discussion Groups

Literary Terms

Rhetorical slanters are words that put a negative or positive spin on what the speaker or writer is saying.

GRAMMAR USAGE

HyphensNotice the use of the compound adverb here: “oh-so-clearly.” When a compound modifier (“oh-so”) precedes the word it modifies, it is often hyphenated to help clarify sentence meaning. Come up with two examples of your own compound adverbs that require hyphens, and compare them with a partner’s.

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My Notes

Bias in News ReportsBias in News Reports

News Source 1

Facts Examples of Bias

Who? Bias by Headline?

What? Bias by Photos, Captions, Camera Angle?

When? Bias through Selection/Omission?

Where? Bias by Source Control?

Why? Bias by Placement/Statistics/Crowd Control?

How? Bias through Labels/Titles/Loaded Language?

ACTIVITY 4.4

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My Notes

News Source 2

Facts Examples of Bias

Who? Bias by Headline?

What? Bias by Photos, Captions, Camera Angle?

When? Bias through Selection/Omission?

Where? Bias by Source Control?

Why? Bias by Placement/Statistics/Crowd Control?

How? Bias through Labels/Titles/Loaded Language?

Check Your UnderstandingHow does bias affect the credibility of a source?

Writing to Sources: Argument

Write an argument exposing the bias evident in the way one of the news stories reports the event. Be sure to:

• Develop a precise and knowledgeable claim.

• Cite details and quotes from the news story to support your claim.

• Acknowledge and refute counterclaims fairly and thoroughly.

• Conclude with a clincher that evaluates how the bias affects the persuasiveness of the text.

• Check for correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.

ACTIVITY 4.4

continued

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Learning Targets• Investigate how critical lenses both shape and reveal perspectives on

real-world events and issues.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of texts independently and in collaborative groups.

PreviewIn this activity, you will begin an exploration of the ways the media, public figures, and government organizations shape or construct the meaning of a historical event: Hurricane Katrina. You will start by reading several texts to help frame and contextualize the event.

Setting a Purpose for Reading• As you read the first text, notice the section divisions and headings. Jot down

your initial observations about the purpose of each section.

• Put a star next to sentences describing actions Congress will take.


Legal Document

The Robert T. Staff ord

Disaster Relief and

Emergency Assistance

Act, Section 101Sec. 101. Congressional Findings and Declarations (42 U.S.C. 5121)

a. Th e Congress hereby fi nds and declares that –

1. because disasters oft en cause loss of life, human suff ering, loss of income, and property loss and damage; and

2. because disasters oft en disrupt the normal functioning of governments and communities, and adversely aff ect individuals and families with great severity; special measures, designed to assist the eff orts of the aff ected States in expediting the rendering of aid, assistance, and emergency services, and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of devastated areas, are necessary.

My Notes


Quickwrite, Marking the Text, Discussion Groups, Note-taking, Think-Pair-Share

Framing the InvestigationFraming the InvestigationACTIVITY

4.5

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b. It is the intent of the Congress, by this Act, to provide an orderly and continuing means of assistance by the Federal Government to State and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate the suff ering and damage which result from such disasters by – 1. revising and broadening the scope of existing disaster relief programs; 2. encouraging the development of comprehensive disaster preparedness and

assistance plans, programs, capabilities, and organizations by the States and by local governments;

3. achieving greater coordination and responsiveness of disaster preparedness and relief programs;

4. encouraging individuals, States, and local governments to protect themselves by obtaining insurance coverage to supplement or replace governmental assistance;

5. encouraging hazard mitigation measures to reduce losses from disasters, including development of land use and construction regulations; and (6) providing Federal assistance programs for both public and private losses sustained in disasters.

Second Read • Reread the document to answer these text-dependent questions.

• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

1. Key Ideas and Details: According to subsection (b), what is the government’s responsibility in times of disaster?

2. Craft and Structure: Look at your notes about text features—including headings and section divisions—used in this text. How do subsections (a) and (b) differ in purpose? What is the overall effect of using these text features?

3. Craft and Structure: Based on context, what is the meaning of rendering in subsection (a)(2)?

Setting a Purpose for Reading• As you read the news article, underline words and phrases that help you

visualize the scene.


My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.5

continued

alleviate: lessen

mitigation: making less severe

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Article

Daylong Eff orts to Repair Levee Fail

by Dan Shea

Th e Times-Picayune, August 31, 2005

1 New Orleans became an unimaginable scene of water, fear and suff ering Tuesday aft er a levee breach in the 17th Street Canal sent billions of gallons of Lake Pontchartrain coursing through the city.

2 As the day wore on, the only dry land was a narrow band from the French Quarter1 and parts of Uptown, the same small strip that was settled by Bienville2 amid the swamps.

3 On Tuesday night, it appeared the city was returning to swamp when a daylong eff ort to shore the levee near the Hammond Highway failed. Mayor Ray Nagin said pumps were being overwhelmed and warned that a new deluge would bury the city in up to 15 feet of water.

4 With solid water from the lake to the French Quarter, the inundation and depopulation of an entire American city was at hand.

5 “Truth to tell, we’re not too far from fi lling in the bowl,” said Terry Ebbert, the city’s director of homeland security. Th e waters were still rising at 3 inches per hour, and eventually could move close to the French Quarter levee.

6 Although the breach occurred on the Orleans side of the canal, it did not spare the Jeff erson side. Water found its way into much of the east bank, meeting the fl ow that came in from the west from Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge Monday.

7 An accurate tally of death was hard to determine. Five deaths related to Katrina have been confi rmed in Jeff erson Parish3, offi cials said. Th ere also are seven people missing who decided to ride out Katrina on Grand Isle.

…

8 As to the living, with the absence of cars and electric motors in the powerless city, a sad tableau played itself out in an eerie quiet.

9 All day, a weary army of storm victims trudged through waist-deep muddy water toward the Superdome, where more than 20,000 people took refuge. Th e next problem is what to do with them. Late Tuesday Gov. Blanco ordered them out, saying the facility was too damaged to house people and the atmosphere too dangerous. Offi cials said the National Guard soon would begin driving them out to dry ground, then airlift them out of southeast Louisiana.

2 French Quarter: New Orleans’s oldest neighborhood 3 Bienville: Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was governor of Louisiana and founder of New

Orleans 4 Jeff erson Parish: one of 64 parishes (rather than counties) into which Louisiana is divided

My Notes

INDEPENDENT

READING LINK

Read and ConnectMuch has been written about Hurricane Katrina and its massive effects on the people, environment, government, and history of the Gulf Region. Find and read an informational or fiction text about Hurricane Katrina that interests you, and take notes as you read it to help you develop contextual understandings about the event. Record your notes in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Framing the InvestigationFraming the InvestigationACTIVITY 4.5

continued

WORD

CONNECTIONS

EtymologyLevee is a noun derived from the French word lever, “to raise.” A levee is a wall or raised ridge of soil alongside a river, built to prevent flooding. Other words derived from lever include alleviate, elevate, elevator, leverage, levity, and relieve.

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10 In other areas, lawlessness took hold.

11 Th e giant new Wal-Mart in the Lower Garden District was looted, aft er a limited distribution of supplies broke down in chaos. Th e entire gun collection was taken.

12 “Th ere are gangs of armed men in the city moving around the city,” Ebbert said.

13 One looter shot a New Orleans police offi cer, who was in critical condition with a head wound.

14 Although local police focused solely on rescue, a call for help was answered by swarms of deputies from western Louisiana parishes.

15 But cops on the street, cut off from their superiors by a failure of the communications system, complained of chaos.

16 “Put this in your paper,” one offi cer on Canal Street said. “Th ey told us nothing. We were unprepared. We are completely on our own.’’

17 If it wasn’t coordinated, the rescue was heroic.

18 Firefi ghters, police and Coast Guardsmen waded through water and climbed to roofs.

19 “We’ve got boats everywhere,” said Capt. Tim Bayard of the New Orleans Police Department. “We’re going to try and get who we can get and take them to higher ground. We may have to come back for some.”

20 Th ey were joined by an armada of Louisiana sportsmen in fl at-bottomed boats, who responded to an appeal for help.

21 Ferdinand Emory rescued about 100 people, ten at a time in his boat.

22 Ebbert estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people were saved in Lakeview and Mid-City.

23 But rescue from the water didn’t mean an end to misery. Th ey were simply dropped off at the few stretches of dry ground, overpasses and parking lots along Metairie Ridge.

24 Aleck Scallan, 63, a paraplegic, was ferried in a boat from his Lakeview home. But he had been sitting for more than six hours on an overpass, with no clear indication when he and scores of others would be picked up.

25 Along the Metairie Road railroad embankment, the only passage through two parishes, people wandered aimlessly, along with dogs and cats that headed for high ground.

26 Aft er the rescue eff ort, the next priority is trying to heal the breach. Ebbert said plans called for giant panels to be dropped in place by helicopter, accompanied by 50, 3,000-pound sandbags. Next the Interstate 10 underpass under the railroad trestle would have to be drained, aft er the giant new pumping station utterly failed its fi rst test. Th at would give disaster recovery teams open access to the city from the west.

27 Th e failure of the Industrial Canal levee created massive fl ooding in St. Bernard and the 9th Ward4 on Monday.

28 Estimates on when the city would become habitable again ranged from two weeks to months.

5 9th Ward: the largest of 17 wards, or areas, into which New Orleans is divided

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.5

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Second Read• Reread the article to answer these text-dependent questions.


4. Key Ideas and Details: Which major levee breach is the focus of this article? At the time of printing, what were the plans for repairing it? How will this help rescue efforts?

5. Key Ideas and Details: What is the implied connection between paragraphs 11 and 12?

6. Key Ideas and Details: Who does the officer in paragraph 16 blame for the chaotic rescue effort?

7. Key Ideas and Details: Why do Aleck Scallan and others have no idea when they will be picked up from the overpass?

Setting a Purpose for Reading• As you read the speech, underline each of the priorities President Bush outlines.

• Put a star next to examples of particularly interesting or powerful rhetoric.


My Notes


continued

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My Notes

Speech

President Outlines Hurricane Katrina Relief EffortsThe Rose Garden

by George W. Bush

August 31, 2005

1 I’ve just received an update from Secretary Chertoff and other Cabinet Secretaries involved on the latest developments in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As we fl ew here today, I also asked the pilot to fl y over the Gulf Coast region so I could see fi rsthand the scope and magnitude of the devastation.

2 Th e vast majority of New Orleans, Louisiana, is under water. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses are beyond repair. A lot of the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been completely destroyed. Mobile is fl ooded. We are dealing with one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history.

3 And that’s why I’ve called the Cabinet together. Th e people in the aff ected regions expect the federal government to work with the state government and local government with an eff ective response. I have directed Secretary of Homeland Security Mike Chertoff to chair a Cabinet-level task force to coordinate all our assistance from Washington. FEMA5 Director Mike Brown is in charge of all federal response and recovery eff orts in the fi eld. I’ve instructed them to work closely with state and local offi cials, as well as with the private sector, to ensure that we’re helping, not hindering, recovery eff orts. Th is recovery will take a long time. Th is recovery will take years.

4 Our eff orts are now focused on three priorities: Our fi rst priority is to save lives. We’re assisting local offi cials in New Orleans in evacuating any remaining citizens from the aff ected area. I want to thank the state of Texas, and particularly Harris County and the city of Houston and offi cials with the Houston Astrodome, for providing shelter to those citizens who found refuge in the Super Dome in Louisiana. Buses are on the way to take those people from New Orleans to Houston.

5 FEMA has deployed more than 50 disaster medical assistance teams from all across the country to help the aff ected—to help those in the aff ected areas. FEMA has deployed more than 25 urban search and rescue teams with more than a thousand personnel to help save as many lives as possible. Th e United States Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue missions. Th ey’re working alongside local offi cials, local assets. Th e Coast Guard has rescued nearly 2,000 people to date.

6 Th e Department of Defense is deploying major assets to the region. Th ese include the USS Bataan to conduct search and rescue missions; eight swift water rescue teams; the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group to help with disaster response equipment; and the hospital ship USNS Comfort to help provide medical care.

6 FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency

ACTIVITY 4.5

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My Notes

7 Th e National Guard has nearly 11,000 Guardsmen on state active duty to assist governors and local offi cials with security and disaster response eff orts. FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers are working around the clock with Louisiana offi cials to repair the breaches in the levees so we can stop the fl ooding in New Orleans.

8 Our second priority is to sustain lives by ensuring adequate food, water, shelter and medical supplies for survivors and dedicated citizens—dislocated citizens. FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas. Th e Department of Transportation has provided more than 400 trucks to move 1,000 truckloads containing 5.4 million Meals Ready to Eat—or MREs, 13.4 million liters of water, 10,400 tarps, 3.4 million pounds of ice, 144 generators, 20 containers of pre-positioned disaster supplies, 135,000 blankets and 11,000 cots. And we’re just starting.

9 Th ere are more than 78,000 people now in shelters. HHS and CDC are working with local offi cials to identify operating hospital facilities so we can help them, help the nurses and doctors provide necessary medical care. Th ey’re distributing medical supplies, and they’re executing a public health plan to control disease and other health-related issues that might arise.

10 Our third priority is executing a comprehensive recovery eff ort. We’re focusing on restoring power and lines of communication that have been knocked out during the storm. We’ll be repairing major roads and bridges and other essential means of transportation as quickly as possible.

11 Th ere’s a lot of work we’re going to have to do. In my fl yover, I saw a lot of destruction on major infrastructure. Repairing the infrastructure, of course, is going to be a key priority.

12 Th e Department of Energy is approving loans from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to limit disruptions in crude supplies for refi neries. A lot of crude production has been shut down because of the storm. I instructed Secretary Bodman to work with refi ners, people who need crude oil, to alleviate any shortage through loans. Th e Environmental Protection Agency has granted a nationwide waiver for fuel blends to make more gasoline and diesel fuel available throughout the country. Th is will help take some pressure off of gas price. But our citizens must understand this storm has disrupted the capacity to make gasoline and distribute gasoline.

13 We’re also developing a comprehensive plan to immediately help displaced citizens. Th is will include housing and education and health care and other essential needs. I’ve directed the folks in my Cabinet to work with local folks, local offi cials, to develop a comprehensive strategy to rebuild the communities aff ected. And there’s going to be a lot of rebuilding done. I can’t tell you how devastating the sights were.

14 I want to thank the communities in surrounding states that have welcomed their neighbors during an hour of need. A lot of folks left the aff ected areas and found refuge with a relative or a friend, and I appreciate you doing that. I also want to thank the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army and the Catholic Charities, and all other members of the armies of compassion. I think the folks in the aff ected areas are going to be overwhelmed when they realize how many Americans want to help them.

. . .

15 Th e folks on the Gulf Coast are going to need the help of this country for a long time. Th is is going to be a diffi cult road. Th e challenges that we face on the ground are unprecedented. But there’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to succeed. Right now the days seem awfully dark for those aff ected—I understand that. But I’m confi dent that, with time, you can get your life back in order, new communities will fl ourish, the great city of New Orleans will be back on its feet, and America will be a stronger place for it.


continued

infrastructure: basic structures needed for a society to function

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My Notes

Second Read • Reread the speech to answer these text-dependent questions.


8. Key Ideas and Details: Based on details in the text, what is the rhetorical context of this speech?

9. Key Ideas and Details: According to President Bush, what are the federal government’s three priorities? How would you categorize them?

10. Craft and Structure: What does President Bush mean by major assets in paragraph 6? What examples does he provide?

11. Key Ideas and Details: What does President Bush compare charitable relief agencies to in paragraph 14? How might this comparison appeal to his audience?

12. Craft and Structure: How does President Bush structure paragraph 15 to appeal to his audience?

ACTIVITY 4.5

continued

Literary Terms

Rhetorical context refers to the subject, purpose, audience, occasion, or situation in which writing or speaking occurs.

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My Notes


continued

Working from the Text13. Revisit either the news article, “Daylong Efforts to Repair Levee Fail,” or

President Bush’s Rose Garden address, and briefly annotate evidence that links to any of the critical lenses. Then use the following questions to analyze how the lenses are linked to any bias the texts reveal.

• What is being reported (the who, what, where, when, why and how of the event)?

• How is it being reported? How objective is the coverage? Identify textual details (slanters, titles, labeling, omission, and so forth) that reveal bias.

• What is the target audience for the publication/broadcast? How does the text’s rhetorical context affect what it talks about and its language and tone? What inferences can you draw about the writer’s or speaker’s expectations about the audience’s perspective?

• If you read only this article or heard only this speech, what would you think is the key issue? In other words, how does the article frame the truth and significance of the event?

• What critical lens or lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?

14. In preparation for further investigation of Hurricane Katrina, use the following process to develop focus questions to guide your research.

Guiding Questions:• Review your understanding of the critical perspectives (archetypal, cultural,

feminist, historical, Marxist, reader response). Which ones seem relevant to this topic? Why? Which ones do not? Why not?

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• Based on background knowledge and your preliminary investigation of the topic, brainstorm connections between each relevant lens and the topic.

• Draft an initial closed (yes/no) question linking the lens to the subject.

• Modify the question to make it open-ended by using one of the following stems:

To what extent did X influence Y?

In what ways did … ?

What does the controversy surrounding (this topic) reveal about attitudes toward the (underlying issue)?

What recurring story patterns are evoked by …?

Check Your UnderstandingQuickwrite: Choose a lens you think applies to the event, and briefly explain what elements of the story may be most relevant through this lens.

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.5

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ACTIVITY

4.6Directing the InvestigationDirecting the Investigation

Learning Targets• Analyze how a director’s use of cinematic and narrative techniques affects

viewers’ perceptions.

• Analyze the effectiveness of nonprint text in supporting a position.

Viewing the Film Trailer 1. Documentary filmmakers use both primary and archival footage to present

their case. As you watch the trailer for Trouble the Water, remember that directors of nonfiction films make choices similar to those made by fiction film directors. Such choices reveal bias, whether in subtle or blatant ways. Which voices do you expect to hear? Which stories will be told? What perspectives will be privileged? You may use the nonfiction viewing guide on the next page to take notes as you watch, or choose another note-taking approach to record key details of the trailer. Be prepared to support a claim regarding the level and nature of bias in the text after viewing the clip.

2. As you watch the trailer for Trouble the Water, respond to the guiding questions by making some predictions about potential issues that might be explored in the documentary. You might not have answers for all lenses. Use the My Notes space for your predictions.

• Archetypal Criticism: What archetypes (images, characters, or story patterns) are evoked in the preview?

• Cultural Criticism: How might issues of race, age, or power be at the root of conflicts explored in the film?

• Feminist Criticism: What are some ways in which gender and gender roles might be an issue in the film, based on the preview?

• Historical Criticism: What contemporary trends, conflicts, or developments might provide important context for understanding the film?

• Marxist Criticism: To what extent might questions of class be relevant in the film?

Check Your UnderstandingWhat are some key choices directors can make in order to influence how viewers interpret the subject of a film? How can these choices emphasize or suggest different critical perspectives?

Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text

After viewing the Trouble the Water trailer, write an essay that explains how the directors’ use of cinematic and/or narrative techniques in the clip reveals their bias toward their subject. In particular, explain how the clip suggests/reveals the importance of a particular lens in the film. Be sure to:

• Focus your answer around a single lens.

• Use the guiding questions to inform your thesis and analysis.

• Use vivid descriptions of elements of the film to support your claims.


Note-taking, Graphic Organizer

My Notes

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYA documentary film is based on factual events. Primary footage refers to footage shot by the filmmaker for the text at hand. Archival footage is footage taken from another, previously recorded source.

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Nonfiction Film Viewing Guide

Director: Title: Year:

What Do We See (primary or archival footage, interviews, still images, the filmmaker, cinematic techniques, narrative elements)?

What Do We Hear (dialogue, narration, diegetic and nondiegetic sounds)?

What Do We Read (subtitles, graphics, labels, and so on)?

How Is It Put Together (editing sequence, transition devices, and so on)?

What Is the Effect? (What is the theme/message of the film? What “truth” does it convey about the subject? What lenses are most helpful?)

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.6

continued

INDEPENDENT

READING LINK

Read and RespondIf you are reading nonfiction, think about the choices that your author has made about what information to include and what to omit. Do you sense the ways in which the author’s opinions and preference create a filter through which you take in the information? What do you observe about the author’s take on his or her subject? Record your observations in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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ACTIVITY

4.7Throwing Light on the SituationThrowing Light on the Situation

Learning Targets• Closely read and analyze a text in order to present key information to peers.

• Synthesize connections between texts in support of an overall interpretive claim.

• Evaluate different organizational options in order to present information and findings clearly.

PreviewIn this activity, you will prepare for the work you and your group will do as you complete this unit’s Embedded Assessments. First, you will closely read and analyze a text, and then you will work together with your peers to synthesize evidence from multiple texts in a presentation and a written analysis.

Setting a Purpose for Reading• As you read the article or the report assigned to your group, use the My Notes

area or your notebooks to record ideas about the rhetorical context: the subject, purpose, audience, occasion, or situation specific to the text.

• Use metacognitive markers to annotate important, surprising, confusing, or central details in the text.


Editorial

An Editorial: It’s Time for

a Nation to Return the Favor

Th e Times-Picayune

November 20, 2005

1 Th e federal government wrapped levees around greater New Orleans so that the rest of the country could share in our bounty.

2 Americans wanted the oil and gas that fl ow freely off our shores. Th ey longed for the oysters and shrimp and fl aky Gulf fi sh that live in abundance in our waters. Th ey wanted to ship corn and soybeans and beets down the Mississippi and through our ports. Th ey wanted coff ee and steel to fl ow north through the mouth of the river and into the heartland.

3 Th ey wanted more than that, though. Th ey wanted to share in our spirit. Th ey wanted to sample the joyous beauty of our jazz and our food. And we were happy to oblige them.

4 So the federal government built levees and convinced us that we were safe.

5 We weren’t.

My Notes

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYTo synthesize is to combine ideas from different sources to create, express, or support a new idea.


Close Reading, Marking the Text, Think-Pair-Share

oblige: do something as a favor

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6 Th e levees, we were told, could stand up to a Category 3 hurricane.

7 Th ey couldn’t.

8 By the time Katrina surged into New Orleans, it had weakened to Category 3. Yet our levee system wasn’t as strong as the Army Corps of Engineers said it was. Barely anchored in mushy soil, the fl oodwalls gave way.

9 Our homes and businesses were swamped. Hundreds of our neighbors died.

10 Now, this metro area is drying off and digging out. Life is going forward. Our heart is beating.

11 But we need the federal government—we need our Congress—to fulfi ll the promises made to us in the past. We need to be safe. We need to be able to go about our business feeding and fueling the rest of the nation. We need better protection next hurricane season than we had this year. Going forward, we need protection from the fi ercest storms, the Category 5 storms that are out there waiting to strike.

12 Some voices in Washington are arguing against us. We were foolish, they say. We settled in a place that is lower than the sea. We should have expected to drown.

13 As if choosing to live in one of the nation’s great cities amounted to a death wish. As if living in San Francisco or Miami or Boston is any more logical.

14 Great cities are made by their place and their people, their beauty and their risk. Water fl ows around and through most of them. And one of the greatest bodies of water in the land fl ows through this one: the Mississippi.

15 Th e federal government decided long ago to try to tame the river and the swampy land spreading out from it. Th e country needed this waterlogged land of ours to prosper, so that the nation could prosper even more.

16 Some people in Washington don’t seem to remember that. Th ey act as if we are a burden. Th ey act as if we wore our skirts too short and invited trouble.

17 We can’t put up with that. We have to stand up for ourselves. Whether you are back at home or still in exile waiting to return, let Congress know that this metro area must be made safe from future storms. Call and write the leaders who are deciding our fate. Get your family and friends in other states to do the same. Start with members of the Environment and Public Works and Appropriations1 committees in the Senate, and Transportation and Appropriations in the House. Flood them with mail the way we were fl ooded by Katrina.

18 Remind them that this is a singular American city and that this nation still needs what we can give it.

1 Appropriations: House and Senate Appropriations Committees pass bills that set aside money for specifi c federal agencies and programs.

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.7

continued

GRAMMAR USAGE

Rhetorical DevicesWriters use a number of rhetorical devices to make their writing more persuasive. In this editorial, the authors use anaphora, or repetition, to emphasize a point. Notice how the authors repeat the phrase “they wanted” to emphasize how much the rest of the nation demanded from New Orleans.

Find one more example of a rhetorical device in this text, and compare your findings with a partner.

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My Notes

Throwing Light on the SituationThrowing Light on the SituationACTIVITY 4.7

continued

Second Read• Reread the editorial to answer these text-dependent questions.


1. Key Ideas and Details: What is the “favor” in the editorial’s title?

2. Key Ideas and Details: According to the text, how has the federal government failed to uphold its promises? What does it need to do to make up for that failure? Cite evidence to support your answer.

3. Craft and Structure: What does describing displaced New Orleanians as “in exile” suggest about how they view themselves?

4. Craft and Structure: What counterarguments do the writers present? How do they respond to them?

5. Key Ideas and Details: What comparison is implied by the sentence, “They act as if we wore our skirts too short and invited trouble.” Is this an effective analogy?

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ACTIVITY 4.7

continued

My Notes

WORD

CONNECTIONS

EtymologyBedlam is a noun used for a scene of noise and confusion. The word can be traced back to the Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem in London, which became an institution for people with mental illnesses in 1402. It soon became known as Bedlam, a Middle English corruption of Bethlehem. Later the word came to be used for any chaotic scene similar to conditions found in early hospitals for people with mental illnesses.

Article

Looters Leave Nothing Behind in Storm’s Wake Police offi cers seen joining in on free-for-all

by Mike Perlstein and Brian Th evenot

Th e Times-Picayune, August 31, 2005

1 Law enforcement eff orts to contain the emergency left by Katrina slipped into chaos in parts of New Orleans Tuesday—with some police offi cers and fi refi ghters even joining looters in picking stores clean.

2 At the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial eff ort to hand out provisions to stranded citizens quickly disintegrated into mass looting. Authorities at the scene said bedlam erupted aft er the giveaway was announced over the radio.

3 While many people carried out food and essential supplies, others cleared out jewelry racks and carted out computers, TVs and appliances on handtrucks.

4 Some offi cers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inch fl at screen television.

5 Offi cers claimed there was nothing they could do to contain the anarchy, saying their radio communications had broken down and they had no direction from commanders.

6 “We don’t have enough cops to stop it,” an offi cer said. “A mass riot would break out if you tried.”

7 Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, “Free samples, free samples over here.”

8 Another man rolled a mechanized pallet, stacked six feet high ... Perched atop the stack was a bewildered toddler.

9 Th roughout the store and parking lot, looters pushed carts and loaded trucks and vans alongside offi cers. One man said police directed him to Wal-Mart from Robert’s Grocery, where a similar scene was taking place.

10 A crowd in the electronics section said one offi cer broke the glass DVD case so people wouldn’t cut themselves.

11 “Th e police got all the best stuff . Th ey’re crookeder than us,” one man said.

12 Most offi cers, though, simply stood by powerless against the tide of law breakers. One veteran offi cer said, “It’s like this everywhere in the city. Th is tiny number of cops can’t do anything about this. It’s wide open.”

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13 At least one offi cer tried futilely to control a looter through shame.

14 “When they say take what you need, that doesn’t mean an f-ing TV,” the offi cer shouted to a looter. “Th is is a hurricane, not a free-for-all.”

15 Sandra Smith of Baton Rouge walked through the parking lot with a 12-pack ... under each arm.

16 “I came down here to get my daughters,” she said, “but I can’t fi nd them.”

17 Th e scene turned so chaotic at times that entrances were blocked by the press of people, shopping carts and traffi c jams that sprouted on surrounding streets.

18 Some groups organized themselves into assembly lines to more effi ciently cart off goods.

19 Toni Williams, 25, packed her trunk with essential supplies, such as food and water, but said mass looting disgusted and frightened her.

20 “I didn’t feel safe. Some people are going overboard,” she said.

21 Inside the store, one woman was stocking up on make-up. She said she took comfort in watching police load up their own carts.

22 “It must be legal,” she said. “Th e police are here taking stuff , too.”



6. Key Ideas and Details: How did police officers justify not stopping the looters? Cite details from the article to support your answer.

7. Key Ideas and Details: What effect does describing the looters as “a tide of law breakers” have on readers?

8. Key Ideas and Details: How does the final paragraph reinforce the central idea of the text?

My Notes

GRAMMAR USAGE

AppositivesAn appositive is a word, phrase, or clause that is in apposition to, or side by side with, a noun or pronoun. The purpose of an appositive is to identify or describe the noun or pronoun.

Appositives are either essential or nonessential. If an appositive is nonessential, containing supplemental rather than essential information, it should be set off by commas. Find the nonessential appositive in this example from the article:

Toni Williams, 25, packed her trunk with essential supplies, such as food and water, but said mass looting disgusted and frightened her.

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My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.7

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Article

Who’s a Looter? In Storm’s Aftermath, Pictures Kick Up a Different Kind of Tempest

by Tania Ralli

New York Times, September 5, 2005

1 Two news photographs ricocheted through the Internet last week and set off a debate about race and the news media in the aft ermath of Hurricane Katrina.

2 Th e fi rst photo, taken by Dave Martin, an Associated Press photographer in New Orleans, shows a young black man wading through water that has risen to his chest. He is clutching a case of soda and pulling a fl oating bag. Th e caption provided by the A.P.2 says he has just been “looting a grocery store.”

3 Th e second photo, also from New Orleans, was taken by Chris Graythen for Getty Images and distributed by Agence France-Presse. It shows a white couple up to their chests in the same murky water. Th e woman is holding some bags of food. Th is caption says they are shown “aft er fi nding bread and soda from a local grocery store.”

4 Both photos turned up Tuesday on Yahoo News, which posts automatic feeds of articles and photos from wire services. Soon aft er, a user of the photo-sharing site Flickr juxtaposed the images and captions on a single page, which attracted links from many blogs. Th e left -leaning blog Daily Kos linked to the page with the comment “It’s not looting if you’re white.”

5 Th e contrast of the two photo captions, which to many indicated a double standard at work, generated widespread anger toward the news media that quickly spread beyond the Web.

6 On Friday night, the rapper Kanye West ignored the teleprompter during NBC’s live broadcast of “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” using the opportunity to lambaste President Bush and criticize the press. “I hate the way they portray us in the media,” he said. “You see a black family, it says they’re looting. You see a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”

7 Many bloggers were quick to point out that the photos came from two diff erent agencies, and so could not refl ect the prejudice of a single media outlet. A writer on the blog BoingBoing wrote: “Perhaps there’s more factual substantiation behind each copywriter’s choice of words than we know. But to some, the diff erence in tone suggests racial bias, implicit or otherwise.”

2 A.P.: Associated Press

lambaste: harshly criticize

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continued

My Notes

8 According to the agencies, each photographer captioned his own photograph. Jack Stokes, a spokesman for the A.P., said that photographers are told to describe what they have seen when they write a caption.

9 Mr. Stokes said the A.P. had guidelines in place before Hurricane Katrina struck to distinguish between “looting” and “carrying.” If a photographer sees a person enter a business and emerge with goods, it is described as looting. Otherwise the A.P. calls it carrying.

10 Mr. Stokes said that Mr. Martin had seen the man in his photograph wade into a grocery store and come out with the sodas and bag, so by A.P.’s defi nition, the man had looted.

11 Th e photographer for Getty Images, Mr. Graythen, said in an e-mail message that he had also stuck to what he had seen to write his caption, and had actually given the wording a great deal of thought. Mr. Graythen described seeing the couple near a corner store from an elevated expressway. Th e door to the shop was open, and things had fl oated out to the street. He was not able to talk to the couple, “so I had to draw my own conclusions,” he said.

12 In the extreme conditions of New Orleans, Mr. Graythen said, taking necessities like food and water to survive could not be considered stealing. He said that had he seen people coming out of stores with computers and DVD players, he would have considered that looting.

13 “If you’re taking something that runs solely from a wall outlet that requires power from the electric company—when we are not going to have power for weeks, even months—that’s inexcusable,” he said.

14 Since the photo was published last Tuesday Mr. Graythen has received more than 500 e-mail messages, most of them supportive, he said.

15 Within three hours of the photo’s publication online, editors at Agence France-Presse rewrote Mr. Graythen’s caption. But the original caption remained online as part of a Yahoo News slide show. Under pressure to keep up with the news, and lacking the time for a discussion about word choice, Olivier Calas, the agency’s director of multimedia, asked Yahoo to remove the photo last Th ursday.

16 Now, in its place, when readers seek the picture of the couple, a statement from Neil Budde, the general manager of Yahoo News, appears in its place. Th e statement emphasizes that Yahoo News did not write the photo captions and that it did not edit the captions, so that the photos can be made available as quickly as possible.

17 Mr. Calas said Agence France-Presse was bombarded with e-mail messages complaining about the caption. He said the caption was unclear and should have been reworded earlier. “Th is was a consequence of a series of negligences, not ill intent,” he said.

18 For Mr. Graythen, whose parents and grandparents lost their homes in the disaster, the fate of the survivors was the most important thing. In his e-mail message he wrote: “Now is no time to pass judgment on those trying to stay alive. Now is no time to argue semantics about fi nding versus looting. Now is no time to argue if this is a white versus black issue.”

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My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.7

continued



9. Key Idea and Details: What different perspectives on the photographs are introduced in the first three paragraphs? How does the author frame the issue?

10. Craft and Structure: Does the article’s coverage seem to favor one side over the other, or does it seem fairly objective in how it presents the information? What evidence supports your conclusion?

Article

The Press, Race, and Katrina

by Madison Gray

Time Magazine, August 30, 2006

1 If you watched any television, listened to any radio, picked up a newspaper or visited a news website in the days that followed Hurricane Katrina last year, you probably were witness to the result of dozens of on-the-spot editorial decisions made by news managers around the country.

2 As much as we may have wanted to avoid the issue in those fi rst confusing days, because New Orleans was 67% African American prior to the storm, race played a signifi cant role in criticisms of government, both local and federal, humanitarian aid and not surprisingly, the media. Fortunately, the fourth estate3 has its own self-policing mechanisms and is much faster than government and other industries at evaluating and scrutinizing itself. But it is only in recent years that the media has taken a look at how it relates to the country’s racial divisions, and Katrina provided an opportunity to do just that.

3 fourth estate: the press

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My Notes

3 Keith Woods, faculty dean of the Poynter Institute, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based journalism training organization, said many mistakes were made by the media, but in bringing attention to the crisis, the press got it right.

4 “Th e media brought a palpable sense of outrage with the coverage from the very beginning,” said Woods. “If you looked at NPR, CNN and scattered sightings of the networks and newspapers, where they did well was to recognize the size of the story and the need to stay with it.”

5 But where race comes in is more diffi cult, he told me. Where journalism failed is not in any lack of emphasis on how disproportionately blacks were aff ected, but in how “too many people were making the surface observation that there were lots of blacks aff ected without spending the time parsing the facts that would make it meaningful or informative.”

6 In fact, many journalists who monitored the coverage felt in hindsight that African Americans caught in Katrina’s wake were misrepresented in the press.

7 “I don’t think African Americans were portrayed in the best light,” said Camille Jackson, a staff writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tolerance.org website. “It came out just how uncomfortable the media is when it comes to race, with the exception of a few.”

8 Jackson authored a series of articles for the website that spoke to media outlets referring to victims as “hoodlums,” “animals” and “thugs.” But she said it comes from cultural insensitivity in the media, which led to false news reports and eventually to a curtailing of emergency response.

9 She warned that the important lesson to be learned is “to be an honest journalist, to tell the whole story, and be aware of your own personal biases. I know it’s scary, but we’re going to have to start talking about race so that we can get at the fear.”

10 Buttressing criticisms of the press response to Katrina was a bipartisan Congressional report released in February that outright accuses the media of making a bad situation worse. It does not specify race in its pages, but its accusations implicate press reports that it says contributed to the confusion. Th e report from the bipartisan House committee investigated preparations for and responses to Katrina and found that media reports of gunshots fi red at rescue helicopters, rapes and murders in the Superdome, and mass rioting in the streets were unsubstantiated at best, and many were simply false. “It’s clear accurate reporting was among Katrina’s many victims,” the report says. “If anyone rioted, it was the media.”

11 But Margaret Engel, managing editor of the Newseum, an Arlington, Va.-based interactive news museum said there are more important things to consider, like images that seemingly cast a divide between black and white survivors. Two in particular were now-infamous captions placed with Agence France-Presse and Associated Press photos. Th e AFP photo caption described two whites as “fi nding” food, while the AP caption described a black youth as “looting” a store.

12 “Th at to me is much more troubling than reporters quoting cops who didn’t really know,” said Engel. “I think you’ll fi nd that some of the stories on that day of looting were wildly overstated. It’s not good that the press reported that, but it is a footnote to the overall coverage which riveted the nation over the lack of response.” She added: “I think for Congress to cast the media response as rumor-mongering is to miss the forest for the trees.”

WORD

CONNECTIONS

CognatesThe word palpable is a cognate in Spanish and English. In both languages, the word is an adjective meaning “able to be touched or felt” or “easy to perceive.”

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ACTIVITY 4.7

continued

My Notes

13 Despite the varied points of view, two things are clear. First, mistakes were made. As Woods pointed out, there has never been a how-to book on covering a disaster that nearly wipes out a whole city. Secondly, and most importantly, if African Americans in New Orleans are to be fairly served, the story must be told. “Now that the initial event has passed, the problem is maintaining people’s attention,” said Richard Prince, chairman of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Media Monitoring Comittee. “People are desperate for media attention because they fear the country will forget them. While a lot of reporters have covered the follow-up, it has not been compelling enough.”

14 Prince said that the way to learn from what happened is for journalists to continually go to the Gulf Coast Region and fi nd new stories, which are abundant. “Th ey call it one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country. So many people have a story to tell; somehow those stories have to be told.”



11. Key Ideas and Details: How does the article frame the issue in the first two paragraphs? What does the author mean by “self-policing mechanisms”?

12. Craft and Structure: What impact does the author’s use of words like hoodlums, animals, thugs, and looting have on the tone of the article?

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My NotesReport

A Failure of Initiative Report by the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina

Union Calendar No. 205109th Congress2nd SessionReport 109–377

PREFACE

1 On September 15, 2005, the House of Representatives approved H. Res. 437, which created the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (“the Select Committee”).

2 According to the resolution, the Committee was charged with conducting “a full and complete investigation and study and to report its fi ndings to the House not later than February 15, 2006, regarding—(1) the development, coordination, and execution by local, State, and Federal authorities of emergency response plans and other activities in preparation for Hurricane Katrina; and (2) the local, State, and Federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.”

3 Th e Committee presents the report narrative and the fi ndings that stem from it to the U.S. House of Representatives and the American people for their consideration. Members of the Select Committee agree unanimously with the report and its fi ndings. Other members of Congress who participated in the Select Committee’s hearings and investigation but were not offi cial members of the Select Committee, while concurring with a majority of the report’s fi ndings, have presented additional views as well, which we off er herein on their behalf.

4 First and foremost, this report is issued with our continued thoughts and prayers for Katrina’s victims. Th eir families. Th eir friends. Th e loss of life, of property, of livelihoods and dreams has been enormous. And we salute all Americans who have stepped up to the plate to help in any way they can.

5 It has been said civilization is a race between education and catastrophe. With Katrina, we have had the catastrophe, and we are racing inexorably toward the next. Americans want to know: what have we learned?

6 Two months before the Committee was established, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich testifi ed before a Government Reform subcommittee about the need to move the government to an “entrepreneurial” model and away from its current “bureaucratic” model, so that we can get government to move with Information Age speed and eff ectiveness.

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ACTIVITY 4.7

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My Notes

7 “Implementing policy eff ectively,” Speaker Gingrich said, “is ultimately as important as making the right policy.”

8 Th e Select Committee fi rst convened on September 22, 2005, understanding, like Speaker Gingrich, that a policy that cannot be implemented eff ectively is no policy at all.

9 Th e Select Committee was created because, in the tragic aft ermath of Katrina, America was again confronted with the vast divide between policy creation and policy implementation. With the life-and-death diff erence between theory and practice.

10 Th e Select Committee has spent much of the past fi ve months examining the aft ermath of this catastrophic disaster. It has become increasingly clear that local, state, and federal government agencies failed to meet the needs of the residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It has been our job to fi gure out why, and to make sure we are better prepared for the future.

11 Our mandate was clear: gather facts about the preparation for and response to Katrina, at all levels of government.

12 Investigate aggressively, follow the facts wherever they may lead, and fi nd out what went right and what went wrong. Ask why coordination and information sharing between local, state, and federal governments was so dismal.

• Why situational awareness was so foggy, for so long.• Why all residents, especially the most helpless, were not evacuated more quickly.• Why supplies and equipment and support were so slow in arriving.• Why so much taxpayer money aimed at better preparing and protecting the Gulf

coast was left on the table, unspent or, in some cases, misspent.• Why the adequacy of preparation and response seemed to vary signifi cantly from

state to state, county to county, town to town.• Why unsubstantiated rumors and uncritically repeated press reports—at times

fueled by top offi cials—were able to delay, disrupt, and diminish the response.• And why government at all levels failed to react more eff ectively to a storm that was

predicted with unprecedented timeliness and accuracy.

13 We agreed early on that the task before us was too important for carping. Th is was not about politics. Katrina did not distinguish between Republicans and Democrats.

14 Th is was about getting the information we need to chart a new and better course for emergency preparation and response. Th e American people want the facts, and they’ve been watching. Th ey alone will judge whether our review has been thorough and fair. Our fi nal exam is this report.

…

15 Our investigation revealed that Katrina was a national failure, an abdication of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare. At every level—individual, corporate, philanthropic, and governmental—we failed to meet the challenge that was Katrina. In this cautionary tale, all the little pigs built houses of straw.

16 Of all we found along the timeline running from the fi ctional Hurricane Pam to the tragically real devastation along the Gulf coast, this conclusion stands out: A National Response Plan is not enough.

carping: petty complaining or criticizing

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My Notes

17 What’s needed is a National Action Plan. Not a plan that says Washington will do everything, but one that says, when all else fails, the federal government must do something, whether it’s formally requested or not. Not even the perfect bureaucratic storm of fl aws and failures can wash away the fundamental governmental responsibility to protect public health and safety.

18 Still, no political storm surge from Katrina should be allowed to breach the sovereign boundaries between localities, states, and the federal government. Our system of federalism wisely relies on those closest to the people to meet immediate needs. But faith in federalism alone cannot sanctify a dysfunctional system in which DHS and FEMA simply wait for requests for aid that state and local offi cials may be unable or unwilling to convey. In this instance, blinding lack of situational awareness and disjointed decision making needlessly compounded and prolonged Katrina’s horror.

19 In many respects, our report is a litany of mistakes, misjudgments, lapses, and absurdities all cascading together, blinding us to what was coming and hobbling any collective eff ort to respond.

20 Th is is not to say there were not many, many heroes, or that some aspects of the preparation and response were not, by any standard, successful. We found many examples of astounding individual initiative that saved lives and stand in stark contrast to the larger institutional failures. Nor do we mean to focus on assigning individual blame. Obtaining a full accounting and identifying lessons learned does not require fi nger pointing, instinctively tempting as that may be.

21 Th ere was also an element of simple bad luck with Katrina that aggravated the inadequate response. Th e hurricane arrived over a weekend, at the end of the month. People on fi xed incomes had little money for gas or food or lodging, making them more likely to remain in place and wait for their next check. Communicating via television or radio with families enmeshed in their weekend routines was diffi cult at best, as was fi nding drivers and other needed volunteers.

22 Over the past several months, we have become more than familiar with the disaster declaration process outlined in the Staff ord Act. We understand the goals, structure and mechanisms of the National Response Plan. We’ve digested the alphabet soup of “coordinating elements” established by the Plan: the HSOC (Homeland Security Operations Center) and RRCC (Regional Response Coordination Center); JFOs (Joint Field Offi ces) and PFOs (Principal Federal Offi cials); the IIMG (Interagency Incident Management Group); and much more.

23 But the American people don’t care about acronyms or organizational charts. Th ey want to know who was supposed to do what, when, and whether the job got done. And if it didn’t get done, they want to know how we are going to make sure it does the next time.

…

24 What this Select Committee has done is not rocket science.

25 We’ve gathered facts and established timelines based on some fairly rudimentary but important questions posed to the right people in both the public and private sectors.

• What did you need and what did you get?• Where were you in the days and hours right before, during, and aft er the storm?• Who were you talking to?• What were you doing?• Does that match what you were supposed to be doing? Why or why not?

sovereign: independent

sanctify: make sacred

litany: long list

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ACTIVITY 4.7

continued

26 In other words, the Select Committee has matched what was supposed to happen under federal, state, and local plans against what actually happened.

27 Our fi ndings emerged from this process of matching.

28 Too oft en there were too many cooks in the kitchen, and because of that the response to Katrina was at times overdone, at times underdone. Too oft en, because everybody was in charge, nobody was in charge.

29 Many government offi cials continue to stubbornly resist recognizing that fundamental changes in disaster management are needed. Th is report illustrates that we have to stop waiting for the disaster that fi ts our response plan and instead design a scalable capacity to meet whatever Mother Nature throws at us. It’s not enough to say, “We wouldn’t be here if the levees had not failed.” Th e levees did fail, and government and other organizations failed in turn—in many, many ways.

30 It remains diffi cult to understand how government could respond so ineff ectively to a disaster that was anticipated for years, and for which specifi c dire warnings had been issued for days. Th is crisis was not only predictable, it was predicted.

31 If this is what happens when we have advance warning, we shudder to imagine the consequences when we do not. Four and a half years aft er 9/11, America is still not ready for prime time.

…

32 With Katrina, there was no shortage of plans. Th ere were plans, but there was not enough plan-ning.

33 Government failed because it did not learn from past experiences, or because lessons thought to be learned were somehow not implemented. If 9/11 was a failure of imagination, then Katrina was a failure of initiative. It was a failure of leadership.

Tom DavisHarold RogersChristopher ShaysHenry BonillaSteve BuyerSue MyrickMac Th ornberryKay GrangerCharles W. “Chip” PickeringBill ShusterJeff Miller

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Second Read• Reread the report excerpt to answer these text-dependent questions.


13. Craft and Structure: How does the use of bulleted lists and questions enhance the main argument of the report?

14. Craft and Structure: What is the point of view of the authors of this report on the preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina? Use evidence in the text to support your answer.

15. Key Ideas and Details: What does the report convey about the “dismal” response of the government? Do they counter that response with any positive findings?

Article

‘Attitude of Resilience’ Helped Create Demo Diva

by Simone Bruni

Chicago Tribune, September 3, 2015

1 How many times in life do we have to start over? How many times do we have to reinvent ourselves just to survive?

2 Hurricane Katrina washed through my house, my city and my life. In the blink of an eye, the comfortable routine I had known was over. Th e high-heeled world of a party planner came crashing down. My home was fl ooded. I lost my job. No neighbors.

My Notes

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No friends nearby. Everyone had evacuated elsewhere. My city was devastated. Everything was turned upside down.

3 I fell to my knees in grief.

4 As a corporate event planner, I sold parties, petals and pretties. I showcased and show-boated all the best of New Orleans: restaurants, hotels, musicians, plantations and bayous. Th e sounds of clinking china and crystal, the laughter and revelry were now drowned out by the National Guard and heavy machinery rolling through our streets. Blanketed in a fi lm of mud and toxicity, the city was grey and lifeless.

5 Oh my gosh, I’m single. Who is going to protect me? Who is going to put my shelter back together? How am I going to survive? What other type of work can I do? Do I have any other skills? Th ese are the most basic questions we ask ourselves in the middle of any type of disaster: divorce, death, unemployment, and loss of relationships. Th is is when our survival instincts give us options: morph or die!

6 My answer came from the most unlikely source one aft ernoon. Two Brazilian brothers were gutting the mildewed walls of my little house. I was sitting on a 5-gallon paint can watching them and holding my head in despair. I seemed to be in my own trance, mumbling to myself, “What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” Th ey spoke an epiphany, “You are an American. You have every right to own your own business. You have opportunities that we do not have in our country. You don’t know how lucky you are. Go start a business.”

7 In that moment, I received the greatest lesson of my life. Two simple, down-to-earth boys showed me the way. When catastrophe hit, it didn’t matter that I was a doctor’s daughter; that I had private-school education; or that I knew the best concierges, restaurant owners and all those other meaningless things. I had a choice of how I was going to react to my circumstances. I had to choose my attitude. I chose to be hopeful. I chose to humble myself. I chose to be positive and it paid off : Th e Demo Diva Co. was born.

8 Equipped with hot pink business cards and yard signs, I sold my demolition services across the city. Door to door. Flyers on windshields. At fi rst, I knew nothing about the demolition equipment but I assured my customers that they could trust me to help them. I would solve their problem. It worked.

9 Six years later, I own a fl eet of hot pink dumpsters, dump trucks and excavators. Our equipment is all over the city. I can’t go into a grocery store or gas station around town without a young or old person singing the jingle from my commercial. “Who fi ghts the Blight, Demo Diva fi ghts the Blight!” Demo Diva isn’t just a demolition company. It’s an attitude of resilience. It’s the personifi cation of us—the people of New Orleans and we, Americans!

10 It took immigrants to show me the light. It took my passion to help my community. But I have infl uenced a male-dominated industry with a little pink fl air and emerged with a successful small business.

Second Read• Reread the article to answer the text-dependent questions on the following

page.


WORD

CONNECTIONS

CognatesThe English word catastrophe and the Spanish word catástrofe are cognates. Both words mean a sudden, unexpected disaster. Many English words spelled with the letters “ph” are spelled with the letter “f” in Spanish: metamorfosis, teléfono, and foto are a few examples.

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16. Craft and Structure: The author opens her essay with questions. What effect does this have on readers? How does she begin to answer those questions in the next three paragraphs?

17. Craft and Structure: What is the author’s point of view regarding how the aftermath of the hurricane affected her life? How would her account be different if it were told objectively rather than subjectively?

Report

The Need for Science inRestoring Resilience to theNorthern Gulf of Mexico

from Science and the Storms: the USGS Response to the Hurricanes of 2005

by Gregory J. Smith

…thousands of people had to chop their way through rooft ops or cling to trees waiting for rescue…thousands are camped upon broken levees…this is a pitiable plight of a lost battle…

Description of the human tragedy following the 1927 Mississippi River fl ood in Rising Tide by John M. Barry

…thousands of people being rescued from their rooft ops and attics…there’s a lot more people who need assistance…

Description of the human tragedy following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina landfall broadcast by WWL-AM New Orleans radio following the posthurricane levee breaches

Unprecedented Events 1 No recent events in the history of the United States have so highlighted the discord between the human landscapes (development patterns) and natural landscapes of coastal America as did the hurricanes of 2005. Hearing the news of stranded citizens aft er Hurricane Katrina made many recall the plight of those stranded by the 1927 Mississippi River fl ood. In the nearly 80 years following the great Mississippi River

My Notes

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ACTIVITY 4.7

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fl ood of 1927, the U.S. population, indeed the world’s population, has migrated to coastal areas. During Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi River and delta, the coastal habitats, the urban environments, and the massive storm came together on August 29, 2005, in coastal Louisiana. Th is storm produced a massive loss of life and property as well as an economic impact along the Gulf Coast that was unprecedented in U.S. history. Hurricanes Dennis, Rita, and Wilma were also powerful hurricanes that aff ected the Gulf Coast in 2005 and were among the record 27 named storms of that year. Th e most intense storms took people’s lives, homes, property, livelihoods, and futures as the world witnessed in disbelief, via sophisticated satellite technology, the raw, massive forces of nature. Of the record number of cyclonic storms in 2005, Katrina and its aft ermath stand as perhaps the best example of the critically urgent need to harmonize and integrate scientifi c, social, and economic coastal planning on a scale that has never before been attempted.

USGS Response to the Storms 2 Th e geological and geographic setting, the hydrologic4 regime, and the biological landscapes of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast have intersected with human coastal development, creating a vulnerable coast. In many ways science, engineering, and technology played a role in the development of this situation; it is these same enterprises that off er the greatest opportunity for transforming our coasts from ones that are vulnerable, like those impacted in 2005, to ones that are resilient…

A Valuable Coast 3 Th e benefi ts of the Gulf Coast to the Nation’s economy are numerous. For example, in Louisiana alone, the Port of South Louisiana handles more tonnage than any other port in the Nation; nearly 34 percent of the U.S. natural gas supply and over 29 percent of the Nation’s crude oil supply moves through the State (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2004). Additionally, the Mississippi River Delta is the gateway to the Nation’s lifeline for moving goods and materials to and from the heart of the United States and the rest of the world. Th e Gulf Coast region accounted for the largest U.S. commercial fi sh and shellfi sh landings, by weight, in the lower 48 States, in 2003–04 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2004).

4 Beyond the stark economic fi gures, the Gulf Coast provides important natural benefi ts, such as the critical coastal habitat for wintering waterfowl and birds migrating from North America to South and Central America. Additionally, these valuable habitats of marshlands and barrier islands are critical to buff ering human populations and property from the winds and fl ood waters of storms.

5 The economic and ecological benefits of the coast are considerable and are critical to America. Harmonizing economic and ecological processes and recovering the human landscape while restoring the natural landscapes are formidable tasks. Scientists, engineers, and resource managers, working together and using an adaptive management approach, offer the greatest promise of transforming a vulnerable coast to a resilient coast for the future. Adaptive management is a type of natural resource management in which decisions are made as part of an ongoing science-based process. It involves testing, monitoring, and evaluating applied strategies and incorporating new knowledge based on scientific findings and the needs of society. Results are used to modify management policy, strategies, and practices (Unified Federal Policy for Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource Management, 2000).

…

4 hydrologic: relating to the study of water, its properties, and its movements on earth

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Science and a Resilient Coast 6 In the aft ermath of the storms of 2005, there was an increase in the already active eff orts for coastal restoration and planning that have involved biologists, hydrologists, geologists, engineers, planners, and the public. Previously, virtually all of the coastal restoration eff orts and programs had cited hurricane protection as a key benefi t to restoring coastal Louisiana (Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, 1990; Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force, 1998; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2004). Following the 2005 storm season, it has become obvious not only that coastal restoration eff orts are urgently needed but also that these eff orts must be completely harmonized with hurricane protection, fl ood control, navigation, river and hydrological management, and ultimately with human development and activities. Restoration of the coast aff ords the opportunity to integrate and harmonize the diverse activities and ecological benefi ts provided by a resilient coast ecosystem. Integrating these massive enterprises will require that goals transcend each of these independent endeavors beyond the interests of any single stakeholder group. Maintaining navigation of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, fl ood control structures, hurricane levees, and storm protection—while simultaneously restoring land lost to the northern Gulf of Mexico to an ecologically functional system—will be a massive and complex challenge for the future. Th e hurricanes of 2005, with their dramatic impact on lives and property, have clearly brought a new sense of urgency to this challenge in which the entire Nation holds a stake.

7 Two major eff orts that pointed to the need for integrated, harmonized planning across human and natural landscapes were focused on a new planning framework and a new vision for the future of the Gulf Coast (Working Group for Post-hurricane Planning for the Louisiana Coast, 2006; Technical Group, 2006). Th ese eff orts have built consensus and recommendations for approaches to building a resilient coast.

8 One such recommendation focuses on retaining Mississippi River sediments in coastal wetlands instead of allowing them to bypass the Continental Shelf. Th is retention of sediments would emulate the historical geological and hydrological processes on the coast that once built land and sustained the wetlands that are now critically needed to protect coastal communities. Such recommendations focus on restoring the coast as opposed to simply armoring the coast (with levees, barriers, and other hard structures). Th e diversity of factors that drive recovery and restoration will certainly include hard structures and will deal with both fl ood control and hurricane protection. Scientifi c studies, however, have made it clear that the restoration of natural coastal wetlands and ecosystem function must be a part of this equation if we are to achieve a sustainable coastal landscape.

USGS Science and the Storms 9 Th is volume contains a synoptic overview of the immediate scientifi c assessments that were conducted by USGS throughout the Gulf Coast region. Th e science addressed issues as they arose, since establishing a research design and specifi c study area prior to the occurrence of a hurricane is unrealistic. While poststorm science tends to focus on impacts and rely less on experimental methods, there is a great deal to be learned through assessing the changes caused by these storms in relation to the human landscape. Th ese studies provide important understandings and point to additional scientifi c work that is needed to produce further knowledge critical in transforming our coast from a state of vulnerability to one that is resilient and sustainable.



synoptic: broad or general©

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ACTIVITY 4.7

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My Notes

18. Craft and Structure: What effect does the author hope to achieve by pairing the two descriptions of different events at the beginning of the article? How effective is it?

19. Key Ideas and Details: Through what lens does the author approach the issue of Hurricane Katrina? Is it an objective or subjective article? How do you know?

Working from the Text20. Revisit the text you read along with your reading group. Reread the text

to locate evidence as you answer the following questions in a small group discussion. Record notes from your discussion, since you will be presenting information about your text to other groups.

• What is being reported (the who, what, where, when, why and how of the event)? Summarize the information covered in the text and how it links to the original news event.

• How is it being reported? How objective is the coverage? Identify and list (or highlight in the article) specific textual details (titles, labeling, omissions, and so on) that reveal any bias in the text.

• What is the target audience for the publication/broadcast? How does the text’s rhetorical context affect what it talks about and its language and tone? What inferences can you draw about the writer’s expectations regarding the audience’s perspective?

• What is the writer’s point of view? How do the evidence and the rhetoric support that point of view?

• If you read only this article or report, what would you think is the key issue? In other words, how does the text frame the truth and/or significance of the event?

• What critical lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?

21. Planning Your Presentation: Now that you have completed your analysis, come up with a plan for how to present the article or report to the class. Your group’s presentation to your peers should include the following:

• The most significant information from your text related to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the event: In particular, discuss how it portrays the response to the original incident. Does it explain, critique, or objectively report? What new insights or later events does it emphasize?

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• A discussion of how the text frames the event and its aftermath: What issue(s) does it focus on? What does it say about the issue(s)? How biased is it in the way it discusses the event? How slanted is the language?

• An analysis of what lens(es) you connected to the text: To construct your commentaries, begin with one of the following stems:

a. As a(n) __________ text, this article reveals that __________.

Use such a stem if you think the text itself explicitly discusses the subject through a particular lens.

b. The author(s) of this text examine(s) questions of ___________, ____________, and ________________ related to the topic.

Use such a lens if you think the text explicitly discusses the subject through several lenses.

c. When we read this text through a _________ lens, we notice that _________________.

Use such a stem if you are applying the lens to the text to focus on reading it from a particular perspective.

• Quotes from the text to support your claims about its rhetoric and its perspective.

22. With this information in mind, brainstorm a list of different organizational strategies your group could use to present your article to your classmates, keeping in mind that the goal of this presentation is to help them find evidence of different critical lenses that link these texts together. Then evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches relative to the purpose of your presentation.

Organizational Approach Strengths and Weaknesses of This Approach

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?

ACTIVITY 4.7

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My Notes

23. Based on your evaluation of your options, which approach will you use to present your article and why?

Analyzing Presentations 24. As you listen to the presentations of the other groups, use the space below

to create a concept map. Record titles, ideas, and page numbers as you make connections between your guiding question and the information presented in the other groups’ presentations.

My Guiding Question

25. As you listen to each group’s presentation, evaluate the following:

• What are the speaker’s tone and point of view?

• Is the speaker’s reasoning sound and well supported by evidence?

• How does the speaker’s rhetoric support his or her point of view and the perception you have of the topic/reasoning?

• How does the speaker link ideas and make connections to the premise of the piece?

• What points does the speaker emphasize, and how do they support the overall premise?

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Check Your Understanding When writing or presenting a critical interpretation, what key questions should guide your decision about what to include and how to organize it?

Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text

Write a paper in which you use evidence from the various articles you have discussed to answer your guiding question. Be sure to:

• Choose an organizational approach that will engage your audience.

• Integrate quotations in a variety of ways to create syntactic variety in your writing.

• Tailor your rhetoric to your target audience.

• Punctuate your paper correctly, and check for spelling errors.

Even a full week after the storm, entire neighborhoods in New Orleans remained flooded.

September 7, 2005.

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Discussion Groups, Brainstorming

ACTIVITY

4.8Looking for TroubleLooking for Trouble

Learning Targets• Generate criteria for evaluating potential research topics.

• Collaboratively refine a plan for generating research questions, investigating a shared topic, and synthesizing relevant information from multiple sources.

Preparing for ResearchTo define a preliminary topic and issue for your individual and group assessments, work with your group members to complete the following steps.

1. Based on the different ways in which the class has explored Hurricane Katrina in this unit, generate a list of criteria for evaluating potential issues as topics for your own essay.

2. With these criteria in mind, brainstorm a list of potential topics and issues. Consider topics and issues that are of broad interest and that provoke inconsistent or opposing reactions.

3. With your group members, discuss the possible topics and issues you might explore. Then use the chart below to consider what approaches each of you might individually take to complete Embedded Assessment 1. Help one another craft guiding questions.

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My Notes

Criticism Is this lens relevant to this issue?

What elements of the issue does the critical

perspective link to?

What could be the guiding question?

Archetypal

Cultural

Feminist

Historical

Marxist

ACTIVITY 4.8

continued

Looking for TroubleLooking for Trouble

Using Technology to Write and Publish4. As you prepare your group project, consider using document-sharing sites to

write drafts of your essay and to complete it. Using such a site would allow you to change the essay in response to ongoing feedback and include new information and arguments as you complete your research and analysis.

5. Be prepared to add citations to your essay as you write. Most document publishing software includes tools that allow writers to add footnotes and endnotes with automatic numbering. If any members of your group have not used these tools in the past, organize a quick training session to ensure all group members are prepared to contribute to the writing.

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Explanatory Writing Prompt

The research proposal is a one-page essay that informs the reader about your group’s chosen issue, discusses information you have already learned, explains which critical perspective you plan to use to examine the issue and why, defines your guiding question, and indicates where and how you will continue to conduct research to answer it. Be sure to:

• Write a clear thesis for your issue.

• Provide significant details that support the critical perspective and identify additional research needed.

• Identify your guiding question.

Components of the Proposal

Event/Topic:

Review of the Issue: Write a summary of what you currently know about your chosen issue.

Which critical perspective will you apply while exploring the issue? What are some ways in which it is particularly appropriate for your topic?

Initial Guiding Question (open-ended or specific):

Research Plan: Where and how will you further explore/research the issue?

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Evaluating SourcesEvaluating Sources

Learning Targets• Analyze the impact of bias on the credibility of sources.

• Evaluate the credibility of sources based on evidence of bias.

Researching Your Topic 1. As you investigate sources, keep in mind you are trying to find articles that link

to your critical lens and that also (as with the articles on Hurricane Katrina) may reflect multiple lenses—and which could thus serve as resources for others in your group. As you identify sources, use the following chart to evaluate them for use in your project.

Criteria for Evaluating Sources

Who is this author? How can you determine the credibility of this author? Consider the author’s occupation, reputation, and credentials.

To what extent and in what ways does the author establish credibility in the text? (For instance, is the writing objective? Is the writing logical? Is there personal testimony? Are other examples or experts cited to support the author’s position?)

Is bias evident in the text? Consider the author’s rhetoric: Are slanters used? To what effect? To what extent? How does this affect the author’s credibility?

How does the text link to your critical perspective? Explain. What quotations might you cite as support for your claims?

What does the text’s publication context reveal about its agenda? How might you use its context to reinforce your claims about the text or about your subject itself?

ACTIVITY

4.9

My Notes


Graphic Organizer, Note-taking

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ACTIVITY 4.9

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After Research2. Use the samples below as models for the annotations you write for your

sources. Note that the examples include a summary of the source, an assessment of the usefulness of the source in providing information about your topic, and a reflection on how the source might be used to help inform your research.

Article from a Periodical (Magazine or Newspaper)Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical, Day Month Year: pages. Medium of

publication.

Smith, Gregory J. “Science and the storms—the USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005.” U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1306, 1 October 2007: 1–4. Web.

Smith provides a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the 2005 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the important role of science in landscape restoration and community recovery.

Website EntryAuthor(s). “Article Title.” Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated

with the site, date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Blumberg, Alex. “After the Flood: Social Studies Lesson.” ThisAmericanLife.org. WBEZ Chicago, 9 September 2005. Web. 4 May 2016.

In the days after the storm, radio producer Alex Blumberg interviews Ashley Nelson, an 18-year-old resident of one of New Orleans’ many flooded neighborhoods. After listening to a clip from a news program claiming that the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina had more to do with class than race, Ashley reflects on the effect of socioeconomic status on residents’ actions before and during the storm and their ability to survive after.

Independent Reading Checkpoint Review the independent reading you have completed so far. Review any notes you took about how the texts discuss or explain the role of the media. Reflect on how you might use the information from these selections as you begin working on the Embedded Assessment. Share your observations with a group of peers.

My Notes

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ReflectionAfter completing this Embedded Assessment, think about how you went about accomplishing this assignment, and respond to the following:

• How did your own perspective on your chosen issue affect your work on this essay? Consider how you responded to each of the sources and their varied interpretations of the event.

ASSIGNMENTYour assignment is to write an argumentative essay, including an annotated bibliography, that argues for the use of a particular critical lens to interpret an event, supporting your argument with evidence from at least five texts gathered alone or with your group members.

Planning and Prewriting: Take time to make a plan for your essay.

n Which insights gained from learning about this event from multiple viewpoints can help you form a critical interpretation?

n Which evidence from your sources will you need to support your interpretation and show the different ways the event is represented in the media?

n Which organizational pattern will best allow you to reveal how a particular critical perspective is supported by the way your articles construct the truth of the subject?

Drafting: Determine the structure and how you will incorporate your evidence.

n How will you craft a thesis so that your audience will understand your critical perspective, as well as how that perspective influences your response to the texts you are analyzing?

n How can you use evidence to support your analysis of the event and how it is depicted?

n How can you use varied and appropriate diction and syntax to enhance the rhetorical effectiveness of your claims?

Evaluating and Revising the Draft: Make your work the best it can be.

n How will you use the Scoring Guide and peer responses to help guide your revision?

n How can examining another writer’s essay help you evaluate your own use of evidence and analysis?

Checking and Editing for Publication: Confirm that your final draft is ready.

n How will you check for grammatical and technical accuracy? n What sort of outside resources can help you to check your citations and

annotated bibliography? n How can you do a final read-through of your essay?

EMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 1

Examining How an Issue Is Presented Examining How an Issue Is Presented in Media Textsin Media Texts

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SCORING GUIDE

Scoring Criteria Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete

Ideas The essay• effectively combines

the sources and the writer’s position to argue for using a particular lens to interpret a single event discussed in multiple texts

• contextualizes the event and presents the critical lens in a clear thesis

• includes a conclusion that suggests the larger significance of the writer’s position on the event.

The essay• adequately combines

the sources and the writer’s position to argue for using a particular lens to interpret a single event discussed in multiple texts

• briefly contextualizes the issue and identifies the critical lens in a straightforward thesis

• concludes logically but repeats the thesis somewhat.

The essay• inadequately argues

how a particular lens can be used to interpret a single event discussed in multiple texts

• presents a weak thesis or one that is lost in a summary of sources

• concludes by returning directly to the attempted thesis, or offers no conclusion.

The essay• provides a confusing

argument on how a particular lens can be used to interpret a single event discussed in multiple texts

• presents an incomplete thesis that summarizes rather than describes a position

• offers no conclusion.

Structure The essay• sequences material

to aptly reinforce the ideas of the argument

• uses transitions that enhance the essay’s coherence

• includes an extensive annotated bibliography.

The essay• sequences material to

support the ideas of the argument

• uses transitions to move between ideas

• includes a complete annotated bibliography.

The essay• organizes ideas

ineffectively or jumps too rapidly between ideas

• lacks effective transitions

• includes an incomplete or inaccurate annotated bibliography.

The essay• organizes ideas

ineffectively or jumps too rapidly between ideas

• does not use transitions

• does not include an annotated bibliography.

Use of Language

The essay• demonstrates a

mature style that advances the writer’s ideas

• employs precise diction and a skillful use of syntax and punctuation to create an authoritative and engaging voice

• follows standard writing conventions, including accurate citation of sources.

The essay• demonstrates a style

that adequately supports the writer’s ideas

• employs logical diction, clear syntax, and effective punctuation to create a suitable voice

• largely follows standard writing conventions, including accurate citation of sources; minor errors do not interfere with meaning.


limited style that ineffectively supports the writer’s ideas

• includes lapses in diction, syntax, or punctuation which may make the writer’s voice inconsistent

• is affected by errors in standard writing conventions, which interfere with meaning.


limited style that ineffectively supports the writer’s ideas

• includes significant lapses in diction, syntax, or punctuation that reflect a confused writer’s voice

• contains numerous errors in standard writing conventions, which seriously interfere with meaning.

EMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 1

continued

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Previewing Embedded Assessment 2Previewing Embedded Assessment 2ACTIVITY

4.10

Learning Targets• Reflect on and make connections between the role of the media and information

sources.

• Analyze the skills and knowledge needed to complete Embedded Assessment 2 successfully.

Making ConnectionsIn an information society, some element of media is always available to provide facts and figures and stories. The quality and accuracy of that information varies considerably by media type and specific source. The wary media consumer evaluates potential bias and checks multiple sources to find credible information. As you prepare to create your own documentary text, you will want to check reliable sources for the information that you present.

Essential QuestionsBased on your study of the first part of this unit, how would you answer these questions now?

1. How do media sources influence our understanding of the truth and significance of an issue?

2. How are media texts constructed to support an agenda or interpretation?

Developing VocabularyReview the vocabulary terms you have learned thus far in this unit. Which ones need further study?

Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2Closely read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 2: Creating a Documentary Media Text.

Your assignment is to create a documentary text in a media channel of your choice (TV news magazine, short documentary film, network news broadcast, podcast, etc.) in which you transform the information you gathered from your research into an argument concerning the topic/issue you have chosen. Your presentation should last 10 to 15 minutes. It may be recorded or presented live.

With your classmates, identify the skills and knowledge you will need to complete this assessment successfully. Create a graphic organizer listing all the specific skills and knowledge.

My Notes


Marking the Text, Close Reading, Graphic Organizer

INDEPENDENT

READING LINK

Read and DiscussFor your independent reading during this part of the unit, select informational texts related to the topic you will be addressing for the Embedded Assessment. Discuss with your group what information you should seek out in your independent reading in order to support the successful completion of a documentary text for the Embedded Assessment.

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ACTIVITY X.X

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Learning Targets• Interpret the relationship between narrative mode and audience engagement.

• Evaluate what narrative mode(s) will best meet the rhetorical objectives of a writing task.

Modes and Styles in Nonfiction Film and Television When we watch films and television shows that are fictional, we are aware that the creators/writers are not showing us reality. However, when we watch nonfiction films and television shows, we tend to assume that what we see is an accurate and objective presentation of reality. Yet nonfiction films and television programs, like nonfiction books and articles, are shaped by their creators.

One way to analyze nonfiction films and television programs is to look at the documentary modes, or methods, the creators use to shape their creation. One critic has identified four modes—expository, observational, interactive, and reflexive—that the creators of nonfiction films and television shows use. Read the following explanation of each mode, and consider the questions that follow each explanation.

1. Expository Mode: The film explains a subject to the viewer. Think of a historical documentary or nature show. In direct address, a voice-over narrative tells us information about the subject. In indirect address, no central narrator talks directly to the audience, but we are shown (or hear) other people talking about the subject as we look at images of it. With either form of address, the filmmaker or creator is making choices about what to explain and how to explain it, but the viewer is not necessarily aware of those choices.

• How does the speaker’s tone influence perception of the subject?

• What do you notice when you compare what is heard with what is shown at the same time?

2. Observational Mode: This is a “fly on the wall” mode, in which the camera seems to follow the subject without commenting on it. This mode features minimal editing or cutting, little or no use of non-diegetic sound, and no voice-over or interaction between the filmmaker and what is being filmed. It comes across as exclusively “showing,” rather than “telling,” which suggests extreme objectivity. The camera is merely recording reality instead of constructing it. Nevertheless, the filmmaker/creator chooses what reality the camera records.

• What is not shown?

• How do framing, angle, and lighting influence our perceptions of the subject?

3. Interactive Mode: The filmmaker’s or creator’s presence is evident; we may hear the questions being asked or see the filmmakers engaging with the subjects. We also get the sense that those on film are aware of being filmed and are perhaps modifying how they present themselves as a result of this awareness. Think “reality” TV: the situations themselves only exist because the film/show is creating them. Again, the filmmaker or creator is making the choices, and the viewer may be a little more aware that those choices are being made.

• Is the filmmaker provoking reactions for the sake of entertainment or to make a persuasive point? Or both?

• How much does the filmmaker’s presence affect our sense of reality?

ACTIVITY

4.11Considering the MediumConsidering the Medium

My Notes


Graphic Organizer, Quickwrite

Literary Terms

In film, diegetic sound refers to sound that can logically be heard by the characters on screen. Footsteps, for example, or the sound of a car engine roaring to life would be considered diegetic sound.

Non-diegetic sound, on the other hand, refers to sound that cannot logically be heard by the characters on screen. Mood music, for example, and voice-overs are non-diegetic sound.

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ACTIVITY 4.11

continued

Considering the MediumConsidering the Medium

4. Reflexive Mode: The text calls attention to itself as a constructed text, through deliberate editing or sound effects or satirical self-examination. It may expose its own apparatus via shots of the film crew at work. When using this mode, the filmmaker or creator is saying, “Look, I’m creating this film/show. Watch me.” The viewer is aware of some if not all of the choices being made.

• How does the text’s reflection on itself influence our willingness to consider the film’s message?

• Can a text be reflexive and still claim to be objective? Truthful?

Adapted from John Golden’s book Reading in the Reel World, NCTE, 2006.

Modes of Nonfiction Film and Television5. As you watch each of the clips your teacher will show, try to determine which

documentary mode is most prevalent. The modes may change between and within scenes, but which one seems to be dominant in each clip? Then identify a list of stylistic features you notice in the clip, before ending with an analysis of how the clip’s mode contributes to its interpretation of the subject.

Use the following chart to capture your notes.

My Notes

Modes of nonfiction film/television

Title Mode and stylistic features Effect on viewer’s perspective

Frontline, “The Storm”

Trouble the Water, Trailer

Trouble the Water, Clips

Frontline, “News War”

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ACTIVITY 4.11

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Language and Writer’s Craft: Using Hyphens to Create Compound Modifiers

Hyphens are very often used with word breaks at the end of lines. They are also used to create compound modifiers:

“… the hunger for sideshows and three-legged calves.”

“… the prejudices of unofficial opinion-makers.”

How do you know when to hyphenate modifiers? First, if the compound is fairly common, you should look it up in a dictionary to see if it is typically hyphenated. Words such as up-to-date and so-called are typically hyphenated, and so will be in the dictionary as hyphenated terms.

Also, if you are using two or more words to modify another word, you may need to hyphenate them to prevent confusion. For instance, this sentence means different things, depending on the way the words are hyphenated:

We watched two-hour-long movies. (We watched movies that were each two hours long.)

We watched two hour-long movies. (We watched two movies that were each one hour long.)

You can use hyphens to build your own compound modifiers and to create a specific effect, such as using them to create a conversational tone.

PRACTICE Think of something very unusual that is hard to describe. Write about it, using two hyphenated compound modifiers.

Check Your UnderstandingHow did each mode influence the way you felt as you watched the information being presented? Based on your answer, quickwrite an explanation identifying which mode you might use in your group’s project and why you might use it.

Argument Writing Prompt

Choose one of the documentary texts and identify the different narrative modes used. Write an argument that evaluates the effectiveness of these modes in engaging viewers. In your argument, define the criteria for what “engage” means. Explain the effect of specific choices in the film on viewers’ perceptions of the subject. Be sure to:

• Introduce a clear thesis statement giving the name of the film version you are evaluating.

• Support your evaluative claim with detailed, descriptive evidence from the film.

• Incorporate appropriate terminology to discuss the various narrative modes.

• Use hyphens correctly to create compound modifiers where appropriate.

My Notes

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Learning Targets• Explain how music and visual rhetoric contribute to the tone in a media text.

• Collaboratively plan to construct a media text.

Elements of a Documentary TextLong before you actually develop your documentary, you have to begin thinking about some of the basic components of a good plan. You need to carefully consider the rhetorical context: your topic/issue, whom you are writing/creating for, why you are writing/creating a work on this particular topic or issue, and so forth. Below are some questions you should ask and answer before you go further in planning your documentary.

• Topic/Issue: What is your topic/issue? What event, person, text, or conflict are you focusing on? What critical lens(es) are you using to illuminate that subject for your audience? What messages or interpretation do you wish to convey?

• Purpose: What is your purpose? What do you want your audience to think/feel/know/do as a result of viewing your text?

• Audience: Decide on an audience to whom you’d like to address your argument. You must settle on an identifiable audience that you expect will have some interest in your topic. Your audience may not be “my teacher” or the other students in your class.

• Speaker: Who are you as the speaker? Think about the various documentary modes: will you be observational, expository, interactive, or reflexive in your text? To what extent? Why?

• Occasion: What is the occasion for your media text? Are you developing it in response to an incident or event, or to celebrate or acknowledge a situation? Would this be shown in a theater, on television, or on the Internet?

• Tone: What tone will best help you achieve your desired purpose? What specific music, visual text, voice-over narrative, sound effects, and so on, could you use to establish your tone? What images will best evoke the desired response in your viewers?

Check Your UnderstandingDevelop preliminary answers to each of these questions. Then revise them after completing the rest of this activity.

Viewing a Documentary1. You will be watching a film clip twice. The first time, you will view it without

sound; the second time, you will view it with sound.

2. As you watch the film clip, make a list of the visual images you see.

My Notes

That Sounds Just RightThat Sounds Just RightACTIVITY

4.12


Note-taking, Brainstorming, Predicting

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ACTIVITY 4.12

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My Notes

3. How does the sequencing of images/scenes contribute to the connotations and tone of the clip?

4. Based on these images, what do you think the tone of this scene is? Brainstorm some possible tone words. Choose the one that seems to fit best, then describe what kind of music or sounds you would expect to hear that would support this tone.

5. As you watch the clip a second time, make a descriptive list of all sound elements in the scene (music, dialogue, background sounds, and so on).

6. How does sound affect the tone of the scene? How is the tone similar to or different from what you expected?

Check Your UnderstandingExplain how you now plan to use diegetic and non-diegetic sound to establish a particular tone and various effects in your text.

Explanatory Writing Prompt

After closely analyzing the audio and visual elements of the scene, write a paragraph in which you explain how the director uses sound in a particular scene in order to establish tone. What is the intended effect of using music to establish this tone? Be sure to:

• Consider the specific rhetorical context of the film clip.

• Support your claim with specific evidence from the clip, such as illustrative examples, vivid descriptions, or comparisons.

• Include commentary that explains how specific choices contribute to the tone.

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My Notes

Learning Targets• Generate a clear plan for synthesizing a range of sources and information to

create a coherent text.

• Select and organize elements for rhetorical effect.

Developing Your Media Text1. Revisiting Your Guiding Questions: Review the guiding questions you

previously generated as a group, and write the questions each of you used in the following space.

2. Defining a Common Question: Work together to define a common guiding question. The goal is to identify a question that is broad enough to be an umbrella under which each of your individual questions falls.

3. Writing Thesis Statements: Once you have your central question, write thesis statements that answer the questions for each of the lenses that will be used by members of your group.

Turning Facts into NarrativeTurning Facts into NarrativeACTIVITY

4.13


Discussion Groups, Brainstorming, Rereading, Graphic Organizer

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ACTIVITY 4.13

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4. Identifying Characters and Roles: Using your collective research on your issue, decide who your subjects or main characters will be. These may be actual people who were involved in or influenced by the event, or they may be composite characters that represent particular points of view. Decide in your group who will play each character as well as who will be the narrator/host/interviewer (one or more may be included).

5. Choosing a Media Channel and Identifying Its Conventions: Brainstorm a list of media channels that you might use to present your various points of view. Choose the option you think would best allow your group to explore your subject. Then make a list of typical structural and stylistic conventions of that channel. You might dissect a professional model to help you identify key features to emulate.

6. Evaluating Organizational Options: Revisit the presentation you and other groups delivered for Activity 4.7. What organizational approaches worked best? Why? Which approaches might work best for your current text? What other options might work?

My Notes

ACADEMIC VOCABULARYConventions are the standard features, practices, and forms associated with the way something is usually done. Different media channels and types of media texts have different genre conventions.

INDEPENDENT

READING LINK

Read and Connect Choose one or more of your independent reading texts. Using the method you used in this activity to develop your media text, think about ways you could incorporate your independent reading in your text. Then share your ideas with your group.

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Turning Facts into NarrativeTurning Facts into Narrative

Nonfiction Film Plan

Our thesis:

Our media channel/format:

Conventions of this format:

What will the audience see? What images or “characters” will be shown? What mode(s) will be used? What angles, framing, composition, and so on, will be used to show our subjects?

What will the audience hear? (include dialogue/voice-over, music, diegetic sounds). What tone are we striving for?

What will the audience think/feel? What perspective will our lens provide? What will the audience learn about the subject? What will they believe/know after each segment?

ACTIVITY 4.13

continued

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Learning Targets• Collaboratively evaluate a text created by peers.

• Reflect on feedback from peers in order to improve the effectiveness of a planned media text.

Juror Ballot1. You will exchange nonfiction film treatments with another group of students in

your class, and you will collaborate with your own group members to evaluate the other group’s plan. As you complete the following Juror Ballot, your task is to assess the quality of the argumentative text they have planned and the degree to which you think it can successfully engage and persuade the intended audience.

Section 1: Dialectical Journal

As you encounter evidence of the critical perspective(s) the presenter (in this case, the group) uses, make a note of what you see or hear, and record a response using the same reading skills that you would normally bring to bear on a written text.

Critical Perspective(s)

What evidence do you see or hear? Your response:

Section 2: Argumentative Thesis

Paraphrase the group’s thesis statement. If there is more than one, be sure to include each.

ACTIVITY

4.14Voir Dire: Facing a Jury of Your PeersVoir Dire: Facing a Jury of Your Peers

My Notes


Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quickwrite

WORD

CONNECTIONS

EtymologyVoir dire is a legal term referring to the practice of questioning jurors to evaluate their suitability to serve on a jury. It is derived from an Old French term meaning “to speak the truth.”

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Section 3: Quickwrite

After viewing the film, quickwrite your overall impressions. Be sure to praise the parts of the presentation that are done well.

Section 4: Evaluating the Text

For each of the areas listed below, discuss the choices made by the group. How effective are these choices at supporting their argument with their target audience?

Mode(s)

Style and Conventions

Tone (Images and Sound)

2. As a group, collaborate to write a review of the other group’s proposed plan, emphasizing evaluation of the likely effectiveness of the proposed plan and suggestions for how to make it more effective. You might reference the Scoring Guide for Embedded Assessment 2 as you evaluate their proposal.

Check Your UnderstandingBased on the feedback your group received, explain what changes will make your planned text more effective.

Independent Reading CheckpointReview your independent reading selections. Think about how you can use your own observations and what you have learned about the media to create a documentary text. Make a list of the ways that each reading selection might be helpful. If you think any of the selections might not be helpful, explain your reasoning.

Voir Dire: Facing a Jury of Your PeersVoir Dire: Facing a Jury of Your Peers

My Notes

ACTIVITY 4.14

continued

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Creating a Documentary Media TextCreating a Documentary Media Text EMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 2

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ReflectionAfter completing this Embedded Assessment, think about how you went about accomplishing this assignment, and respond to the following:

• This assessment involved working as a team and combining the ideas of several people. How did the presence of multiple perspectives provide advantages for your group? How did it make the process more difficult?

ASSIGNMENTYour assignment is to create a documentary text in a media channel of your choice (TV news magazine, short documentary film, network news broadcast, podcast, etc.) in which you transform the information you gathered from your research into an argument concerning the topic/issue you have chosen. Your presentation should last 10 to 15 minutes. It may be recorded or presented live.

Planning and Prewriting: Take time to plan for your research and the structure of your presentation.

n What roles are necessary for the media text, and who will take on each role? n How will you divide up the writing tasks so that everyone has an equal share of

work to do? n What other tasks will you need to plan besides the writing process (rehearsal,

filming and editing if recording the performance, and so on)?

Drafting: Write a script and a plan for supporting information (visuals, media, etc.).

n What genre conventions will you follow as you create your script? n How will you appropriately document your use of sources? n How can you ensure that the group works successfully to maintain its purpose

and achieve its goals?

Evaluating and Revising: Create opportunities to review and revise your work.

n What changes or additions do you need to make in order to ensure that the work of the different group members becomes one coherent script?

n How can you use the feedback of others to improve your work? n How can you use the Scoring Guide as a resource to evaluate your draft?

Checking and Editing for Publication: Confirm that your final draft (or media version) is ready for publication.

n How will you check for grammatical correctness and technical accuracy? n What sort of outside resources can help you to check your work?


My Notes

Creating a Documentary Media TextCreating a Documentary Media TextEMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 2

continued

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Juror BallotAs you view a group’s documentary media presentation, you will complete this Juror Ballot. Your task as a juror is to assess the quality of the media text you’re viewing and the degree to which you believe it will successfully reach the intended audience.

Section 1: Dialectical Journal

As you encounter evidence of the critical perspective(s) the presenters use, make a note of what you see or hear. Record a response using the same reading skills that you would normally bring to bear on a written text.

Critical Perspective(s)

What evidence do you see or hear? Your response:

Section 2: Argumentative Thesis

Paraphrase the group’s thesis statement. If there is more than one, be sure to include each.


Section 3: Quickwrite

After viewing the film, quickwrite your overall impressions. Be sure to praise the parts of the presentation that are done well.

Section 4: Evaluating the Text

For each of the areas listed below, discuss the choices made by the group. How effective are these choices at supporting their argument with their target audience?

Mode(s)

Style and Conventions

Tone (images and sound)

Section 5: Evaluating the Product

Write a review of the group’s final product, focusing on its effectiveness at engaging the audience while presenting a compelling argument regarding the ideological meaning(s) and critical significance of their subject.

My Notes

Creating a Documentary Media Text EMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 2

continued

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Activity Title Activity TitleActivity Title

ACTIVITY

X.X

SCORING GUIDE

Scoring Criteria Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete

Ideas The presentation• reveals an insightful

analysis and mature understanding of the topic through a script and an annotated bibliography

• demonstrates thorough investigation, insightful application of the lenses, and thoughtful understanding of the topic

• includes a reflective text that demonstrates a thorough and detailed analysis of the entire process.

The presentation• demonstrates careful

analysis and clear understanding of the topic

• demonstrates adequate investigation, application of the lenses, and clear understanding of the topic

• includes a reflective text that demonstrates adequate analysis of the process.

The presentation• reveals a limited

analysis and understanding of the topic

• demonstrates inadequate investigation and/or misunderstanding of the lenses or how they apply

• includes a reflective text that demonstrates inadequate analysis of the complete process.

The presentation• reveals little or no

analysis and/or understanding of the topic

• demonstrates inadequate investigation and/or misunderstanding of the lenses or how they apply

• does not include a reflective text.

Structure The presentation• is organized in a

precisely appropriate way that enhances the intended message for the target audience

• features a polished performance that creates focus and maintains energy

• demonstrates equal sharing of responsibility.

The presentation• is organized

appropriately for the media channel and makes clear the intended message

• features an organized, coherent performance

• demonstrates sharing of responsibility that is mostly balanced.

The presentation• is organized

inappropriately for the media channel and may convey an unclear message

• includes a disorganized presentation

• demonstrates an unequal division of responsibilities.

The presentation• does not use the

chosen media channel appropriately

• includes a confusing and disorganized presentation

• demonstrates an unequal division of responsibilities.

Use of Language

The presentation• demonstrates a

mature style that advances the group’s ideas

• crafts language that is precisely appropriate to the media channel.

The presentation• demonstrates a style

that adequately supports the group’s ideas

• crafts language that is appropriate to the media channel.

The presentation• demonstrates a

limited style that ineffectively supports the group’s ideas

• includes language that is inappropriate to the media channel.

The presentation• demonstrates

confusing language that does not support the group’s ideas

• includes language that is inappropriate for the media channel and presents the topic inaccurately.

Creating a Documentary Media TextCreating a Documentary Media TextEMBEDDED

ASSESSMENT 2

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g12 u4 se b1 · 8/17/2017 · embedded assessment 1: examining how an issue is presented in media...

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